


Unexpected Changes

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-30
Updated: 2004-01-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 36,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Sam's life is about to change unexpectedly. Sam/Donna





	1. Unexpected Changes

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Unexpected Changes**

**by:** Catgurl83

**Character(s):** Sam, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/Donna  
**Rating:** YTEEN, just to be on the safe side.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters that you recognize aren't mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made on this fic.  
**Summary:** Sam's life is about to change unexpectedly. Sam/Donna  
**Spoiler:** I can't think of any specifically  
 **Feedback:** Would be greatly appreciated.  
**Author's Note:**

He laid his things down on the end table next to the sofa. The answering machine light was flashing. He pressed the button. "You have four messages." The machine told him.

Sam went to the kitchen and started making himself a sandwich as the messages played. The dry cleaner reminded him to pick up his suits. A friend wanted to have lunch together sometime soon. The dentist’s office wanted to let him know that it was time for another check up. Sam went back to the living room just as the last message began to play.

"Mr. Seaborn," a hesitant voice began, "My name is Alana Farrel. We have never met but I really need to speak to you. As soon as possible. It is very important." She recited a phone number and hung up.

Sam shrugged as he walked down a hallway. Maybe he’d call her later, he thought as he climbed into the shower. He had never even heard of her. What could she be calling about? She could be a reporter but how would she have his number? Besides, the press knew that they had to go through CJ if they wanted to talk to the Senior Staff. The name Farrel was vaguely familiar but he had never known an Alana Farrel. He quickly stepped out of the shower as he realized why the last name was familiar.

"Ms. Farrel, this is Sam Seaborn," he said into the phone a few minutes later.

"Mr. Seaborn." She sounded relieved. "I didn’t think that you would return my call."

"I wasn’t planning on calling you back," Sam admitted. "I changed my mind once I realized why your last name sounded so familiar."

She sighed. "I didn’t know if you would remember."

Sam did not reply. How could he forget?

"I... I... When was the last time you spoke to Alex?" she finally asked.

Sam thought a moment. "It has been over a year."

She gasped. "Do you remember when?"

"It was November or October of last year. I remember that it was around Thanksgiving."

It was almost a full minute before she spoke. "Alex was in a car accident last December. She didn’t make it."

Sam was stunned. Was this the reason for Alana’s call? If it was, why didn’t she let him know sooner?

"I didn’t think you knew."

So, this wasn’t the reason for the call.

"Did she tell you anything important when she called you?" Alana asked.

Sam sat down. "No, she didn’t. We mostly made small talk."

"Alex has a twenty-one month-old daughter."

_Oh my God_ , Sam thought. "She’s mine?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, she is."

"Why didn’t you call me sooner? You said Alex has been gone for more than a year." Sam was glad that he was sitting. A daughter?

Alana hesitated. "I never planned on telling you," she finally admitted. "I planned on raising my granddaughter without any interference."

"Why did you call me?" Sam wondered out loud.

"Things have changed. Serena and I need your help."

Sam sat up straighter, alarmed. "Is something wrong?"

"Serena has leukemia. No one in our family is a match."

"She needs a bone marrow transplant. How do I get tested?"

Alana quickly explained the testing procedure.

"What happens if I am not a match?"

"Then everyone in your family gets tested," she said firmly. Someone in the Seaborn family was a match for Serena. Someone in the family _had_ to be a match for Serena.

"Where are you at? Are you in DC?" Sam needed to know where his child was living.

"No, we live in Baltimore."

"I need to go. I’ll call you tomorrow or the day after." Sam hung up the phone before she could answer. He punched in another number. "CJ, if you're there please pick up the phone."

A breathless CJ grabbed the phone. "Sam are you alright? You sound different."

"I just got a phone call. I have a child CJ. A little girl."

"You what?"

Sam’s voice broke. "She... She’s sick CJ. Leukemia."

"The child’s mother just told you?"

"Yes. No. She's dead. A car crash. Serena’s grandmother called me."

"You had no idea?" CJ asked as she sat down. Her concern for him outweighing her anger at him for creating a situation like this.

"None. I talked to her a couple of months before she died. She didn’t tell me. She didn’t even hint at something like this."

CJ sighed. "The press will find out eventually. Probably soon. They are going to love this. White House Senior Staff member abandons his dying child."

Sam said nothing. He knew it would be bad.

"You need to call Leo," CJ told him, glad that she wasn't going to have to be there when Leo exploded.

"I know," Sam said resignedly.

**********

The next evening Sam sat in his living room. Josh, CJ, Donna, and Toby were all with him. Pizza boxes and soda cans littered the coffee table. Sam didn’t even notice. He reached for the phone.

"I got the test done today," he said as soon as Alana had answered. "It will be a few weeks before the results are back. The lab said they will fax the results to Serena’s doctor for comparison."

"Thank you," Alana replied sincerely.

"I will be coming to Baltimore this weekend. I want to meet Serena." Sam’s voice was soft but firm.

Alana decided that it was not worth arguing at this point. She did need his help to save the baby’s life after all. "Fine. When would you like to meet her? You could come over for an hour on Saturday afternoon."

Everyone in the living room frowned as they heard her words over the speakerphone. An hour? Donna laid a supportive hand on Sam’s shoulder.

"I’ll arrive in Baltimore too late on Friday night to see Serena. I’d like to come over on Saturday morning though. After she has had a few hours to get used to me I would like to take her out for a few hours."

"Out? Where?" Alana asked fearfully.

"What? Like a White House Senior Staff member is going to kidnap his daughter?" Josh muttered at the phone. This lady was getting on his nerves.

Sam responded calmly. "Going out for ice cream is a possibility. I was also thinking a zoo or a park."

"Do you have any experience with toddlers? Perhaps I had better go with you," Alana quickly responded.

"I will not be able to bond with my child with you along. She is already used to depending on you." Sam repeated the answer he had rehearsed with Donna as annoyance began to build up within him.

Alana sighed. She couldn't get out of this. She would have to let him have time with Serena, for now. "Fine, you can spend Saturday with Serena. I assume you’ll need to get back to DC on Sunday?"

"Yes I will," he agreed.

"Do not back down," Toby whispered. He already knew that he did not like that woman.

Sam gave him a look before continuing. "Do you attend church on Sunday mornings?"

"Occasionally. On special occasions," Alana answered wondering where he was going with this.

"I would like to take Serena to church before I leave on Sunday," Sam told her.

Alana sighed again. "That will be fine."

Sam smiled as Alana gave him her address. She sounded resigned.

"I get the feeling that she doesn’t want you in Serena’s life," Josh stated after Sam had hung the phone up.

"No she doesn't," Sam agreed. "She isn't going to get her way on this."

"Do you plan on trying to get custody?" Toby asked.

"I haven’t decided. I don’t know if I could handle a toddler and my job."

"You would leave your daughter with that woman?" Donna’s voice was incredulous.

"I don’t know Donna. I am going to hire a lawyer though. I think I am going to need one to establish my rights." Sam’s face showed much of the confusion he was feeling.

"You didn’t tell her that you plan on releasing this to the press," CJ said.

"No, I am going to call when I have a copy of the statement. I think it will be easier that way."

"Are you sure we should do this?" Josh asked.

"Yes," CJ answered him. "Leo agrees with me. This is a story that we need to release ourselves. It will go over a lot better that way."

"What are you going to tell the press?" Donna asked curiously.

"We definitely need to tell them that Sam did not know about Serena until recently. We also need to tell them that if Sam is a match, he will go through with the procedure to save her life," Toby answered her.

"We should release the story to a sympathetic source," CJ said.

They all started suggesting ways of releasing the information.

**************

"Do you think she'll trust me? Will she scream when we try to take her away from the house? She won’t understand that we are going to bring her back, will she?" Sam asked as he and Donna drove toward Alana’s house. Donna had agreed to come to Baltimore with him since he knew nothing about small children.

Donna shot him a reassuring smile. "She'll be fine." Sam was terrified that he'd upset his little girl, that he'd scare her, that she wouldn't like him.

At Alana’s house, they climbed out of the car and mounted the steps to the front porch. It was several minutes before Alana finally answered the door.

"Mrs. Farrel, I’m Sam Seaborn and this is Donnatella Moss."

Alana glared at Donna. "You did not tell me you were bringing your girlfriend," she said coldly.

"I am not his girlfriend," Donna told the woman, her voice just as cool as Alana's. "I am a friend. We work together."

Alana continued to glare as she wordlessly stepped aside and motioned them into the house. She led them to the family room. A little girl sat on the floor playing with a doll. She looked up when Sam and Donna entered the room.

Alana had already knelt down next to the child, her voice automatically softening. "Serena, I want you to say hello to our guests."

Sam’s heart nearly broke when the little girl looked at him. She was so tiny. There was no way that she wasn't extremely underweight. Her face was very pale, almost gray. Her lack of hair drew attention to the gauntness of her face. Yet, her eyes were very bright, very alert. She was beautiful.

"Hi," Serena said shyly, the tiniest of smiles playing at her lips.

"Hi Serena. It is very nice to meet you." Sam was kneeling next to her now, too.

Alana spoke again. "Sweetie, this is your daddy."

Serena’s eyes widened. "My daddy?"

Sam and Alana both nodded.

"Oh." Serena looked up at Donna. "Lady?"

Donna joined the others on the floor. "I’m Donna. I’m a friend of your daddy’s. You are a very pretty little girl."

Serena beamed. "Play." She offered a doll to Donna.

"Okay." Donna took the proffered doll.

Serena handed a doll to Sam. "Play too?"

"Of course." Sam smiled at her. This was easier than he had expected.

Alana sat on the couch as Sam and Donna played with Serena. The child liked both of them. It would be very easy for Sam to get Serena away from her if he wanted to. Too easy. She could not lose her little girl.

"Serena would you like to get pizza and ice cream for lunch?" Alana heard Sam ask an hour later.

"Yeah!" The little girl shouted. He had just offered her, her two favorite foods.

Sam stood up with the child in his arms. "We’ll be back in a few hours," he told Alana. "I'm going to need to talk to you before I leave tonight."

Alana nodded as she stood up, "you’ll need her car seat."

Donna waved her back down. "We got a car seat before we left DC. We’ll be fine. We even had the sales clerk show us how to install it."

"What kind of pizza do you want?" Sam asked a half-hour later as they stood in line at the pizza parlor.

"Ice cream," Serena said gleefully.

Donna and Sam both laughed. "Pizza first, then we’ll go get ice cream." Donna promised the child.

"Kay, teese pittsa," Serena said decisively.

Sam ordered a large cheese pizza. "What should I get her to drink?" he asked Donna.

"Milk."

They sat down in a booth. Serena immediately started looking around. "Want to play."

Sam noticed the back wall for the first time. Several children’s rides and a few video games lined the wall. He stood up. "We can play until our pizza is ready." He carried her over to a horse ride. Serena laughed as the horse swayed back and forth to music.

Donna smiled. They were so cute together. Sam had to decide to take custody of that little girl. It was obvious that he adored her.

"She is adorable," an elderly woman said from the next booth.

Donna turned to smile at the woman. She didn’t know how to respond. "Thank you."

"He is good with her. You're lucky, many men aren’t that good with their children," the woman went on.

Donna just continued to smile.

"She's sick," the woman observed sympathetically.

"Yes she is," Donna agreed. "She has leukemia."

The woman shook her head in empathy. "My husband died of pancreatic cancer several years ago. The treatments were very hard on him. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a toddler. How old is she?"

"Twenty-one months. It is very difficult on her. But deep down she is still a normal, happy child." They both looked across the room. Serena was sitting on Sam’s shoulders holding a basketball. The ball bounced off of the side-wall netting instead of going anywhere near the hoop but Serena just laughed. She tried several more times but never seemed to get discouraged.

"You can learn so much about life from a young child."

"Yes, you can," Donna agreed, still watching Serena and Sam.

Their pizza was laid on the table and Sam brought Serena back. He turned to get her a highchair and she grabbed his arm. "No Daddy. I big girl."

Sam sat down. "We’ll try it this way first."

Donna put a small slice on Serena’s plate and the child grabbed it happily. Half of the sauce got on her hands, face, and shirt but she didn’t seem to notice.

Sam had to keep himself from laughing several times as he watched his daughter eat. She grinned as she took bites of pizza and the sauce dripped down her face. Finally, after eating two and a half slices, minus the crusts, she put her slice down. "I done."

"I’m done," Sam gently corrected her.

"Kay."

"Can you finish your milk?" Donna asked her.

Serena drank her milk as Sam and Donna finished eating. Donna stood up and reached for the child. "Let’s go wash you up." It took Donna ten minutes to get the child clean enough to be willing to be seen in public with her. Serena stood patiently the whole time.

At the ice cream parlor Serena got a 'nilla' ice cream cone. "What do you want to do now?" Sam asked Serena when she and Donna got back from the restroom after the child had been cleaned up again.

Serena shrugged.

"Would you like to go to the park?"

Donna shook her head at him. "We should probably keep her away from other children. Her immune system might not be working well enough to fight off colds."

"Oh. You’re right. She wouldn’t have to play with other kids though. Do you want to go to the park and swing Serena?"

Serena shook her head.

"Do you want to go to the zoo?"

Serena nodded excitedly. "Pettin zoo."

"Do you know where the petting zoo is?" Donna asked Sam.

"I saw it last night on our way to the hotel." 

Serena ran to the door with Sam and Donna chasing after her.

***********

Alana sat on her front porch staring at the road anxiously. She stood up when Sam pulled up to the curb. "I thought you would be back by now."

"So did we but Serena was having fun." He lifted the sleeping child out of the car while Donna got her things.

"What is all of that?" Alana asked as Sam laid the baby on the couch. She gestured to the things Donna was putting on the coffee table.

Sam looked over at Serena’s new things. "We went to the petting zoo. Serena wanted some things from the gift shop."

Alana eyed the stack on the table. "Some things? It looks like you bought the shop out."

Sam smiled sheepishly. "She liked all of those things and I couldn’t say no. It really isn’t that much anyway. It isn’t all toys."

Alana moved closer to the table and sifted through the things. "There are two t-shirts here, the rest of this stuff is toys."

Sam shrugged. "I didn’t say it wasn’t mostly toys." He glanced around the room. "Could we sit down and talk?"

Alana sighed, she had been hoping he would forget. "Let’s go into the kitchen so we don’t wake Serena up."

"Would you like me to stay out here with Serena?" Donna asked.

Alana nodded as Sam said, "no, come with us."

Donna followed Sam.

Alana poured tea as Sam and Donna sat down. She didn’t speak until she joined them at the table.  "What did you want to talk to me about."

"A couple of things. We need to tell the press about Serena." Sam could see that she was about to protest. "They are going to find out anyway. We can make it easier on Serena by releasing the information on our own time in our own way," he explained.

"Why does anyone have to know at all?" Alana asked.

"I am a member of the President’s Senior Staff. People are interested in my mistakes. We cannot let them see Serena as a mistake."

"How would you release the information? Would the Press Secretary announce it at a briefing?"

Sam shook his head. "I have to do this myself or it will look like I'm hiding behind my job. We decided that I would go on a television show and do an interview."

"When?"

"We called the Oprah show. I am booked for Tuesday." He hesitated. "They would like you to be there also."

"Me?" Alana asked incredulously.

"You can give insight on why your daughter did not tell me about Serena. You can also tell the audience more about Serena’s condition than I could because you have been to her doctors appointments."

"I would have to go to Chicago," Alana stated.

Sam nodded. "Yes. I'm catching a flight Tuesday morning."

"What about Serena?" Alana asked.

"The show will provide someone to watch her during the taping," Donna answered quietly.

"A stranger?"

Donna laid a comforting hand on the woman’s shoulder. "You and Sam will both be right there and it will be less than an hour."

Alana finally nodded. "I’ll go. But I do not want Serena in the interview. If a picture is shown it has to be a few months old. I don’t want people to be able to recognize her from this."

Sam and Donna both nodded. They were in complete agreement with her on that one.

"There was something else you wanted to discuss," Alana prompted.

"I want to spend more time with Serena next weekend."

Alana nodded. She had expected this. "You can come over at the same time as you did this weekend."

"That is not what I had planned. I would like to come on Thursday evening."

"Thursday? Don’t you have to work?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes. I would like to pick Serena up on Thursday and take her to DC with me. I would bring her back on Monday."

Panic was rising inside Alana. "It's a lot of work, caring for a toddler. She's still in diapers."

"I know."

"How can you work with a toddler around? Is that even allowed?"

"I spoke with the Chief of Staff and the President. Neither think that this will cause a problem. Serena will be fine."

"If he needs help for any reason I'll be there," Donna assured her.

Alana frowned. It did not look like she was going to be able to get out of this. "She's very sick. Can you cope with that?"

"Yes. I’ll watch her closely, make sure she takes whatever medicine she has," Sam assured the woman.

"I guess you can take her next weekend," Alana said grudgingly.

"Thank you." Sam beamed. He had won another round. Until the test results were back she really could not say no as long as his requests were realistic.

Sam and Donna stood to leave. "We’ll be back tomorrow at about 8:30," Sam told Alana at the front door.

"I’m glad you have a lawyer," Donna told him as soon as they were driving away. "I don’t think that she is going to continue to be so accommodating. I don’t think she wanted to say yes about next weekend."

"When she finds out that I want to raise Serena myself she is going to be very upset," Sam agreed.

"You decided to raise Serena?"

Sam smiled. "I decided the first time she smiled at me. My decision was reaffirmed several times."

Donna smiled. "I’m glad. She is a sweetheart. What are you going to do about your job?"

"If Leo and the President can’t work with me on this I’ll quit. I can open a law practice and work my hours around Serena."

Donna’s smile broadened. "I think it is wonderful that you are willing to make that sacrifice for your daughter but I don’t think you’ll have to. I think that the President and Leo will work with you."

"I hope so," he admitted. "Do you think we should stop and get Serena a doll or something, to give to her tomorrow? I know that you said I shouldn’t bring her something today because that would be buying her affection but she likes me now, right?"

Donna laughed. "Sure, stop at a toy store."

At Toy's R Us, Sam quickly chose a doll. Then something occurred to him. "What am I going to need for next weekend? Should we buy everything here?"

"Sam, I really think you are going to need more than toys for next weekend."

"Should we go to another store?" he asked in concern.

She laughed, "Sam I'll help you shop in DC. I don’t think you would be able to fit everything you need into your car. In DC, you can choose what you want and then have the store deliver."

"Okay. We should do that tomorrow when we get home."

Donna held back another laugh at his enthusiasm. "Okay, we can stop in DC tomorrow."

 

***********

The next day Donna and Sam stopped at a store that catered to children’s belongings. They had everything from furniture to clothes to toys. Sam was in a very good mood. The morning with Serena had gone well. Sam had told the child that he would see her Tuesday. Serena was very excited.

It took Sam several hours to choose what he wanted from the store. He picked a toddler bed and a dresser first. Then he debated with himself for almost a half-hour over whether or not Serena needed a highchair. Donna finally ended the debate by suggesting that he buy a booster seat. Next he chose a stroller.

"Which characters do you think Serena likes?" Sam asked in the bedding section. There were a seemingly endless array of animated characters on blankets, pillowcases, and sheets. The selection took up several aisles.

"I don’t know. Maybe Barney or Blue?"

"You mean get a plain bedding set." Sam looked thoughtful. "Wouldn’t pink be better than blue?"

"Blue is a dog," she told him as she handed him a pillowcase with the animal on it.

"Oh." He put the pillowcase back. "How about Barbie?"

"I think Serena is a little young for Barbie dolls and if you get her the bedding she’ll want the dolls."

"I'll get Barney than," Sam decided.

Donna refrained from telling him about the song. He’d find out soon enough.

He got a blanket, pillowcases, sheets, towels, and a rug with Barney on it.

"Should I get her some clothes?"

"I am sure Alana will send her clothes and diapers with her Sam," Donna assured him.

"Yes, but shouldn’t she have a whole new set of belongings at my house?"

Donna frowned as she thought about it. "You should ask your lawyer about that. I guess it could help you in the custody battle."

Sam decided to choose a few pieces of clothing and toys and come back for the rest of what he’d need later.

He got a pair of PJ’s with Blue on them and then chose matching slippers. He got a few shirts and a couple of pairs of pants. "Should I get something special for Serena to wear when she meets the President and the others in the West Wing?"

Donna smiled as Sam started looking through the dresses. "I think that would be a good idea."

Sam finally chose a lacy pink dress with several layers. He got a bow, white shoes, and a pair of tights to match.

He chose several toys before they left the store.

At Sam’s, they ordered Chinese food and ate while they set up Serena’s room.

************

Sam shook his head. "I didn’t find out about my daughter’s existence until a week ago."

"What was your first thought?"

"I was stunned. My next thought was that I had to see her as soon as possible."

"When did you meet Serena for the first time?" Oprah asked.

"I spent last Saturday and part of last Sunday with Serena," Sam answered.

"Do you plan on being a part of her life in the future?"

"Yes I do." Sam nodded as he spoke.

"Are you going to sue for custody of your daughter?"

"I haven’t decided what my plans are," he answered truthfully. He hadn’t yet decided when the best time

to have Alana served with custody papers was.

Oprah smiled at the camera. "I am looking forward to hearing more about Serena after this commercial."

"It's going well so far," Donna said with relief. She, Josh, and Toby were sitting with CJ in her office.

"The show just started," Josh pointed out. "It is going to get worse."

They all turned back to the TV as the show started again. "Tell me about Serena," Oprah told Sam.

Sam beamed. "Serena is twenty-one-months-old. She is a beautiful, sweet, little girl. She is affectionate and loving." He looked behind him as he spoke. Pictures of Serena were playing. Most of them were from her infancy. The last picture came up and the audience gasped. This picture had been taken a few months before. Serena was lying in a hospital crib. She had an IV and tubes in her nose. Her hair had already fallen out.

 "Serena has leukemia," Sam finished softly. His friends could tell that he was working hard to keep from crying.

"What is her prognoses?"

"She has to have a bone marrow transplant. No one on her mother’s side of the family is a match."

"Have you been tested?" Oprah asked.

Sam nodded. "My test results aren’t back yet."

"What if you are not a match?" Oprah asked gently.

"I don't even want to think about it. I have to be a match," Sam said firmly.

"How does the rest of Serena’s family feel?"

"I don’t have very much family. My parents are both deceased. I called my older sister. She said that if I need her to she'll get tested. As for Serena’s mother's side of the family, I haven’t had contact with anyone but Serena’s grandmother Alana."

"Serena’s grandmother Alana is here. We’ll talk to her after the break."

"Does she really look that awful?" CJ asked Donna, the image of Serena still in her head.

Donna nodded. "She doesn’t have the IV or the tubes but she is so tiny. I have seen one-year-olds that weigh more than Serena."

"Her hair hasn’t grown back?" Josh asked.

 Donna shook her head.

"Is she a quiet child?" CJ asked.

"No, she is playful and active just like any other almost two-year-old. The only difference is that she gets tired a lot easier. She can’t walk very far."

"Is she articulate?"

Donna rolled her eyes. Trust Toby to ask that question. "She isn’t even two yet Toby. How articulate do you want her to be?"

"Is she at age level?"

"I think that she is above most children her age. Her only problem is that she has trouble with pronunciation."

"That is to be expected," CJ said with a smile.

The show came back on. Alana was sitting with Oprah and Sam.

She told everyone how supportive the rest of her family had been about Serena’s illness.

"You did not contact Sam until last week. Is there a reason you did not want him involved in his daughter’s life?" Oprah asked her.

"I was merely following my daughter’s wishes. Alex did not want Sam to know about Serena’s existence. She told me before Serena was born that she didn’t want Sam in the baby’s life. She said that he would not be good for Serena. His job was too important to him. She felt that he would insist on being involved with the baby and ruin his life as well as Serena’s."

Oprah nodded. "How do you know that your daughter didn’t change her mind?"

"She had many chances to tell Sam about Serena. She spoke to him two months before her death and didn’t say a word about the baby," Alana explained.

"You were just honoring your daughter’s wishes," Oprah stated. "How do you feel about Serena having a relationship with her father?"

Alana smiled at the camera. "I encouraged Sam to spend last weekend with her. I am even allowing him to have her with him in DC this weekend. I want Serena to have the opportunity to get to know her father."

"How would you feel about Serena living with her father?"

"I am against it. I hope that Sam is smart enough to realize what a mistake that would be."

Donna gasped. She could see the change in Sam but was sure that no one who didn’t know him could. He was tenser. She could tell that he was trying very hard to keep calm. The others in CJ’s office were having the same problem.

Alana continued, "Sam has a very important and time consuming job. Young children take a lot of care, especially children who are as sick as Serena is. I do not want that care to be provided by a nanny when I am very willing and able to take care of my granddaughter."

"How do you know that the care would be provided by a nanny?" Oprah asked.

"Sam said himself that his parents are dead. His older sister is married with children of her own. He is not married and as far as I know he is not in a serious relationship. As far as I can tell his only alternatives to hiring a nanny would be quitting his job or taking Serena with him. He is not going to quit his job at the White House and can you imagine a young child in the West Wing?" She laughed and the majority of the audience joined her.

"Sam would you like to comment on this topic?" Oprah asked when the laughter had died down.

In CJ’s office everyone held their breath. They were all hoping and praying that Sam did not tell the national audience that he would quit his job if he needed to. They did not need that.

"I want to say again that I haven’t decided what I'm going to do yet. What I do know is that I already love that little girl and cannot imagine living a life without her in it." Sam answered without hesitation.

They talked a little more about Serena’s illness.

Finally, Oprah smiled at both Sam and Alana. "I am glad that you chose to share your story on my show. I will be praying for little Serena to get well again soon. Will you keep me updated on Serena’s progress?"

Alana and Sam both agreed.

"I told you it was going to get worse," Josh said after the show had ended.

"I really do not like that woman," CJ said in disgust.

"I am just glad that Sam didn’t rise to the bate and admit that he was going to sue for custody of Serena."  

Toby sighed, "That woman is awful."

"She was doing all of that on purpose. She probably rehearsed for hours." Josh turned to CJ. "How do you think all of this is going to play in the press?"

"I think everyone is going to believe that Sam didn’t know about Serena until last week and that he really loves her and wants her in his life. I also think that there will be a good portion of people who think Serena should stay with her grandmother and Sam should visit when he has the opportunity. They will be very vocal. There will probably be groups that come forward stating that it is Alana’s right as a grandmother to raise Serena. We would be better off if she hadn’t gone on the show."

"How can anyone believe that a grandmother has more rights than a father?" Josh frowned.

CJ shrugged. "I don’t know but there will be groups that believe that. They will say that it is only in situations like this one. That Sam does not have the time to be an attentive enough father."

"That is bull."

"We all agree Josh but people who don’t know Sam might not." CJ gestured to the TV. "The audience at the Oprah show obviously believed that."

"Sam needs to prove them wrong," Toby added. "From now on he needs to be at all of Serena’s doctors appointments. He needs to spend as much time with Serena as possible."

"Should he file for custody?" Donna wanted to know.

Toby and CJ both shook their heads. "Not yet. He needs to wait a few weeks for some of this to die down."

"We should have pictures taken of Sam and Serena doing things together. Pictures that everyone will think are adorable. In a week or two Sam can do another interview and show how close he and Serena are," Josh suggested.

"Alana doesn’t want current pictures of Serena shown," Donna informed him.

"We can’t go against her wishes," Josh said sarcastically.

"No, we can’t. She has custody."

CJ smiled. "Donna is right Sam can’t show pictures of Serena publicly without Alana’s permission but Sam can't control the press. Alana went on national TV and said that Serena would be in DC with Sam all weekend. If a photographer happened to find them somewhere in public and take pictures, we couldn’t stop it."

"We could accidentally inform a few reporters where they might find Serena." Josh was smiling too.

Donna grinned. "You mean like Danny?"

CJ nodded. "If we were to accidentally slip, it could easily be to Danny. He is around enough."

"Make sure he knows that a photographer would have to be careful. We don’t want Serena to get scared," Donna reminded CJ.

"Yeah," Josh agreed. "It would be bad for a picture of a crying Serena to be released."

Donna slapped him across the head. "You are an idiot. Serena’s feelings are more important than publicity."

"Oh come on, she won’t even remember anything than happens now. She's not even two-years-old." Josh stood up. From the expressions on Donna and CJ’s faces, he was not safe here anymore. He glanced over at Toby. Toby looked slightly amused. Apparently, Toby wasn’t going to help him. Josh walked backward to the door to his office.

Donna and CJ burst out laughing as soon as he was gone. Toby rolled his eyes.

**********

"I need to leave early on Thursday."

"Why?" Josh didn’t look up from the papers he was reading.

"I am going with Sam." Donna told him.

He looked up at her. "Again?"

"Yes. He wants my help."

"He wants your help," Josh repeated. "Serena is Sam’s child, not yours. He is going to have to learn to take care of her. He is going to raise her not you."

Donna frowned. "He hasn’t spent very much time around small children. He needs someone to help him learn. Besides, Serena is wonderful." She smiled as she thought of the little girl.

Josh decided to try a different tactic. "Serena has a potentially deadly disease. If Sam is not a match, she could die. Are you sure you want to spend so much time with her? You are going to get really attached."

"Don’t you dare say anything like that where Sam can hear you! Serena is not going to die. And you know what, I don’t care if I get attached to her. Maybe I want to get attached."  She spun around toward the door. She turned back to him. "I will be leaving early on Thursday." She shut the door as quietly as she could to keep herself from slamming it.

**********

"CJ, is Sam going to be leaving the White House?" CJ was giving a press briefing. All that the reporters seemed to want to ask about was Sam and Serena.

"At this time Sam is not planning on leaving the White House," CJ answered.

"Does he plan on suing for custody of his daughter?"

"At this point Sam has not decided what he is going to do."

"CJ, a lady working in the pizza parlor that Sam took Serena to on Saturday says that Donna Moss was with them. Is that true?"

"Donna went to Baltimore with Sam to meet Serena," she answered.

"My source claims that they were acting like a family. Is there a romantic relationship developing between Sam and Donna?" Danny pressed.

"Not as far as I know." CJ quickly ended the briefing. She had not expected that question.

 

********

On Friday morning, Sam and Donna walked into the West Wing together. Sam was pushing Serena’s stroller. As they walked through the West Wing people stared at them, they had all heard about Serena. Most of them had also heard the rumors about Donna and Sam. Many people were disappointed that the baby was in her stroller and they couldn’t see her.

Sam put the diaper bag down in his office. Donna was already taking Serena out of her stroller. "Who do you want to introduce Serena to first?"

"Let’s try Josh," Sam answered.

Josh looked up when they walked into his office. He did not notice the baby at first. "Did you two come in together?"

"Yes we did," Donna answered.

"Do you want to encourage the rumors?" Josh asked them both.

"Last night we decided to come to work together this morning," Sam explained. "We are going to take Serena to a museum after work."

"A museum?" Josh was incredulous. "You are taking a baby to a museum? She might break something."

"It is a children’s museum," Sam said defensively.

Josh glanced at Serena, who was in Donna’s arms and smirked. She was wearing a frilly pink dress, tights, and small, black, dress shoes. "You dressed her up to meet the President?"

Sam flushed. "This is very important. She has to make a good impression."

Josh studied the little girl. Serena grinned at him. She looked so fragile. "How could she not make a good impression?" As much as he wanted to be indifferent to the child, he couldn’t be.

"Is that Serena?" CJ asked from the doorway.

"No," Josh answered. "Sam and Donna decided to kidnap another sick child from the hospital." As soon as he said it, he realized his mistake.

CJ, Sam, and Donna glared at Josh.

"I’m sorry," he said softly. "I should not have said that."

"No you shouldn’t have," CJ told him, she was walking over to Serena. "May I hold her?" she asked. "I promise, my hands are clean."

"You have to wash your hands to hold a child?" Josh asked in surprise.

"You do when the child has no immune system to speak of," CJ snapped at him. Serena reached her arms out to CJ. Once she was in CJ’s arms, she pointed at Josh, "Don’t like."

Everyone but Josh started laughing.

Josh frowned at the child. She was too adorable for him to dislike her and she disliked him. He reached into his desk and then walked back over to Serena. "Do you want a piece of candy?"

"Candy!" Serena reached for the piece of chocolate that Josh was holding out.

Josh pulled it back so that it was barely out of her reach. "Say please."

"Peas," she said with a sweet smile.

Smothering his own smile, Josh gave her the treat.

Donna frowned at him. "You couldn’t wait until later in the day to give her candy?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

"Tank you," Serena said around a mouthful of chocolate.

"You're welcome." He smiled despite himself.

"If she gets any chocolate on her dress I am going to kill you," Sam stated as he watched the child eat. He grabbed a Kleenex off of Josh’s desk. As soon as Serena was finished with the candy, he grabbed her hand. Sam quickly wiped off her hands and then wiped her face.

"You would think you were her mother not her father," Josh muttered.

Sam just glared at him.

"Have you introduced Serena to the President yet?" CJ asked curiously.

Sam shook his head. "You two are the first to meet Serena."

"Can I go with you to the Oval Office?" she inquired hopefully.

Sam shook his head. "This is going to be bad enough. I don’t want an audience." He just knew the President was going to tease him unmercifully.

"Donna’s not going with you?" Josh asked in surprise and relief.

"I am going with him," Donna answered.

"He just said he doesn’t want an audience."

"I wouldn’t have wanted an audience when I meet Serena but Donna was there," Sam told his friend.

Josh and CJ exchanged a look. "Is there any truth to the rumor about you two?" CJ asked after turning back to Sam.

"Sam and I aren’t a couple. We are just really good friends. I would help Josh or Toby in the same way I am helping Sam," Donna told the others defensively.

CJ shot her friend a disbelieving look.

"Down," Serena commanded.

A horrified expression transformed Josh's face. "Not in here. I don't want a two-year-old lose in my office."

"Technically, she is not two yet," Sam informed him with a slight smile. The look on Josh's face was priceless.

"Whatever. Take her to bother Toby. She can run around his office."

"When Toby gets upset with us, I’ll make sure that I tell him you gave us permission to let Serena lose in his office." CJ smirked as they left the office.

Toby looked up when his door opened. "So this is Serena. She looks a lot better in person. She is not as pale as in the picture," he observed as he studied the child, who was still in CJ's arms.

The child waved at him. "Hi."

Toby blinked. "Hello."

"No," Serena corrected him. "Hi."

Toby glanced at CJ who shrugged. "Hi," he said to Serena.

"Like," she declared, pointing one tiny finger at Toby.

"What does she like?" Toby asked, slightly confused.

Donna smiled. "She has decided she likes you."

Toby nodded as he stood up. "Serena say, 'I like you'."

"Like," Serena said again.

"No. I like you," he corrected her again.

"Toby, she's two. She cannot talk in complete sentences." CJ spoke slowly, as if she was talking to a young child.

Toby frowned at her. "She can’t speak in complete sentences unless she is encouraged to do so. We have to set an example for her." He turned back to Serena. "I like you."

"Like you," Serena repeated.

Toby started to smile. "I like you," he said again.

"I like you," Serena parroted, grinning. She knew that she had done something right.

"Very good," Toby praised her.

"Very good." Serena had found a new game.

Sam groaned. "Stop it Toby. I don't want my daughter to be obsessed with English like you are."

"She could choose something far more detrimental to be obsessed with than English," Toby pointed out.

Serena clapped her hands together. "Toey."

"My name is Toby," Toby corrected her.

Serena shook her head, "Toey."

CJ laughed. "I love her. If you ever need a babysitter let me know."

"You’ll show her a picture of me and encourage her to call it Toey," Toby accused her.

She snickered. "Yep." She smiled at the baby. "Serena, he is not Toey. He is Uncle Toey."

Toby glared at her.

"Kay. Unca Toey."

"I have work to do." Toby went back to his desk.

"See you later Toby," Sam said as he turned to leave.

Donna took Serena from CJ as she walked out of the office. The baby waved at Toby who did not respond.

"Charlie, is the President available?" Sam asked.

Charlie smiled at the baby as he stood up. "Let me check. She looks good."

"Thank you," Sam said.

Charlie returned from the Oval Office moments later. "You can go in."

"Hello Mr. President. This is my daughter Serena. Serena this is President Bartlet."

The baby frowned. "Pres," she tried again, "Presy."

The President laughed. "How about this Serena, you can call me Uncle Jed."

"Unca Jed." The baby smiled.

"She is adorable. When will the test results be back?"

"It will be a few more weeks," Sam answered.

"Abbey and I have been praying for Serena."

"Thank you Sir," Sam said quietly.

"Down," Serena ordered.

"Not yet Serena," Donna told her.

"Put her down, Donna. She won’t hurt anything," the President commanded.

Donna hesitated before putting Serena down. The child toddled over to the President and sat on his feet.

President Bartlet burst out laughing. "You have to take her to visit Abbey."

"I will Sir," Sam promised as he smiled at his daughter.

The laughter faded. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

Sam nodded. "Yes Sir. I am going to raise my daughter."

"I’m glad Sam. I think that is best for both of you." President Bartlet's voice was sincere.

"I would like to keep my job here at the White House but Serena is more important to me. If you do not want me to continue working here, I'll resign."

"Sam, you will not resign. You are keeping your job. We can work around Serena." His voice brooked no argument.

"How Sir? She takes a lot of care. I would definitely have to take allot of time off for her doctors appointments."

President Bartlet nodded. "I know she’ll have to go to the doctor a lot. You’ll have to hire a nanny to watch her for part of the day. The nanny could come here with Serena part of the time."

"Thank you Sir," Sam said gratefully.

They continued speaking with President Bartlet for a few more minutes before leaving when Nancy McNally arrived for an appointment with the President.

**********

On Saturday morning, Josh smiled at the newspaper in his hands. Serena was on the cover. Serena, who was in Sam's arms, had the most adorable confused expression on her face as she listened to Sam and Donna trying to explain the workings of an old car at the museum.

The next paper had a picture of Sam kissing Serena, who was in Donna's arms, on the forehead.

Another showed Serena sitting next to Sam on a bench outside of an ice cream place. She was feeding him an ice cream cone.

These were wonderful. The only problem was that Donna was in every picture. She was actively participating in the first two. In the last she was sitting on the bench smiling at Serena.

He picked up the phone and dialed Donna’s number. "All of the big papers have pictures of Serena," he said as soon as she picked up the phone.

"I know. Isn’t it wonderful? They got great pictures," she enthused.

"Yes, they did. There is a problem though."

"Really? What?" Donna was confused.

"You are in all of the pictures."

"So?"

"SO?" He repeated. "You are getting very close to Sam and Serena aren’t you?"

Donna hesitated. "I have always been close friends with Sam."

"You never used to spend so much time with him though."

"I am spending time with him because he needs my help," Donna defended. She really did not like Josh's accusing tone. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

Josh sighed, "That is not the whole reason. You have feelings for Sam."

"No, I don’t," Donna disagreed quickly.

"Yes, you do. What are you doing today?"

Donna hesitated. "Sam and I are taking Serena to a fair."

"See, you are spending time with Sam again. What kind of fair is it?"

"It is an orange fair."

Josh grimaced. "An orange fair. Celebrating oranges. You two do the strangest things for fun. I feel kind of sorry for Serena."

"We have been taking Serena to educational yet fun places," Donna informed him primly. "It is good for her." She went on when he laughed, "She is ahead of children her age. Toby even got her to say a complete sentence."

Josh sighed, she was sounding as if she was Serena’s mother. This was worse than he had thought.

"I’ve got to go. Sam and Serena will be here soon."

"Bye."

"Bye."

********

Donna and Sam strolled the fair with Serena in her stroller. They watched for reporters, just in case. They had not told anyone where they were going today, except Josh. They didn’t want anymore pictures taken. Yesterday was for the press. Today was for them.

"I can’t believe Serena has to go back to her grandmother’s tomorrow," Sam said softly.

"I know," Donna agreed. "Are you going to try to get Alana to let you have Serena next weekend?"

"No."

Donna looked at him, shocked. "You're not?"

"No. There is no way she would let me have Serena next weekend anyway." He took a breath. "I called my lawyer last night. We’re filing papers tomorrow. Since Serena is so sick we are going to ask for an emergency hearing to establish temporary custody," he explained.

"Sam, that is wonderful." She kissed his cheek. "Do you think the hearing will be this week?"

"Probably not. It will probably be next week."

"Do you think you’ll get custody?"

"Temporary custody," he corrected softly. "As Serena’s father I have a good chance of getting temporary custody. My biggest problem is that Serena’s doctor is in Baltimore. That could work in Alana’s favor. At the very least, I will get a visitation schedule."

"Do you think you’ll get permanent custody? How long will it take to find out?"

"If Alana fights for custody and we both know she will, it could take months to find out who gets custody. The court will assign a social worker to Serena. He or she will do home studies of my house and Alana’s house. They will check into both of our finances. They’ll make sure neither of us has a criminal record. They’ll observe Serena with me and with Alana. If either of us has a nanny and I will have to have one, they will check into her background, watch her with Serena. They’ll meet with the people closest to me and the people closest to Alana. The social worker will then give a recommendation to the Judge."

"So, it depends on the social worker and Judge."

"Yes." Sam sighed, "We just have to hope that we don’t get a Judge who thinks children are better off raised by a woman."

"Will they call witness’s?"

Sam thought before answering. "The social worker will testify. If either side brings in a child psychologist, he or she testifies. In this case, I doubt a psychologist will be brought in as Serena is so young. Serena’s nanny might have to testify. If a child attends a daycare or preschool, they can be called on. Alana or I could bring in character witness’s, people who have seen us with Serena and think we’d make good parents. In some cases the child’s doctor testifies." 

"So there will be a lot of witness’s?"

"Yes."

"Will your job work in your favor or against you?"

"I really don’t know. That will depend on the Judge."

They stopped by food booths. "Serena do you want a hot dog?" Sam asked the child who was looking around curiously from her seat in the stroller.

"Kay," she agreed happily.

Sam ordered three hot dogs. He handed a plain hot dog to the baby. She would get the toppings all over herself if she had a chance.

"Does anyone else know that you are going to file for custody tomorrow?" She took a bite of her hot dog.

Sam shook his head. "No, I’ll call CJ tonight so she’s not surprised if she hears about it tomorrow."

"When you were on Oprah, everyone was talking about how you should wait a few weeks before filing for custody."

"I can’t. I want Serena here with me. Besides, I don’t want to give Alana a chance to make the first move."

Sam took a bite of his hot dog.

"Out!" Serena exclaimed, fiddling with the safety strap holding her in the stroller.

"No sweetie, you can’t get out here."

"We could take her on the Ferris Wheel," Donna suggested.

Sam nodded, "Alright."

At the Ferris Wheel they parked the stroller and joined the line.

 The line inched forward slowly. Finally, they got onto the Ferris wheel. As the ride started to move Serena squealed. Sam held onto the child as she peeked over the edge. "High," she told them.

"Yes, we are up high," Donna agreed.

Sam smiled at her. "Toby is rubbing off on you."

"What?"

"You just corrected her language use," he informed her.

"Well, he's right. Serena will not learn to talk properly if we don’t try to teach her. She doesn’t mind, to her it is fun, a game."

Sam laughed. "I wonder what Alana is going to think when Serena starts chattering about her weekend. She calls President Bartlet 'Unca Jed'."

"It will probably take Alana hours to figure out what Serena means when she says 'Unca Toey'."  Donna laughed.

"And the 'big house'." Sam suddenly looked horrified. "You don’t think that Alana will think I took Serena to a prison, do you?" 

Donna laughed again. "She knows where you work. She'll figure out what Serena means."

"I think Serena had fun."

"Of course she did Sam. Everyone spoiled her. She loved it."

"Serena gained a whole family didn’t she?" Sam asked quietly as they reached the top of the Ferris Wheel.

Serena pointed at the people below. "Little. Me big."

"They are little. I am big," Donna automatically corrected her. She looked back at Sam as the Ferris Wheel started to move again. "Yes, she gained a whole family. They all love her already."

"And you?" Sam asked.

"Me? Of course, I love Serena. I have spent more time with her than any of them have. How could I not love her?"

"She is wonderful, isn’t she?"

They got off of the Ferris Wheel and walked back toward the stroller. Several people stared at them. Some recognized them. Others just noticed that Serena had leukemia.

Donna looked around as Sam fastened Serena into the stroller. "Oh no," she groaned.

Sam stood up. "What’s wrong?" He followed her gaze. Danny Concannon was walking toward them. They did not have time to escape.

"Hello Sam, Donna." He bent down next to the stroller. "Hi Serena. How are you doing today?"

Serena just stared at him with wide eyes.

Danny stood up.

"Where’s your camera man?" Sam asked wearily as he looked around.

Danny smiled innocently. "I didn’t bring him with me. I am not working right now."

"Then what are you doing here?" Donna asked suspiciously.

"I'm meeting someone here. A date."

"Where is she?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Right here," CJ declared as she joined them.

Donna and Sam both stared at her.

She bent down to greet the baby. Serena smiled at her. "Ceej," she gurgled.

CJ smiled at Sam as she stood up. "Serena really needs a speech therapist."

"You and Danny?" Donna asked incredulously.

CJ's smile was her only response.

Sam grinned triumphantly. "You can’t write about Donna, Serena, and I being here or I’ll tell Leo about you and CJ."

Danny shook his head. "I wasn’t planning on writing about you two being here. Everyone knows that you two are together anyway."

"We are not a couple," Donna sighed. Why did everyone keep saying that?

Danny gave them a disbelieving look while CJ rolled her eyes. "Those pictures of the three of you are adorable," CJ told them pointedly.

"The pictures mean nothing," Donna protested quickly.

"Those pictures are swaying public opinion on Sam and Serena. They're helping convince people that he actually cares about his daughter. I wouldn’t say that they mean nothing," CJ said with a raised eyebrow.

"That is not what I meant. You know what I meant," Donna responded.

Sam looked down at his watch. "Oh, we have to go. We're taking Serena to a new Disney movie."

"She’s two and you're taking her to a movie? Will she understand it?" Danny asked curiously, looking down at the little girl.

Donna and CJ both glared at him while Sam shrugged. "Of course she’ll understand it," Donna said indignantly, "She is very smart."

Danny shook his head. "You two take Serena the weirdest places. She’d probably rather be at a park playing in the sandbox."

CJ hit him on the arm. "Serena can't go to the park. She'd get germs from the other kids."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Kids are supposed to get germs. It's normal."

"But Serena isn’t normal." CJ gave Sam an apologetic smile. "She's sick. Her immune system is weak. A simple cold could send her to the hospital."

"Oh." Danny looked down at the baby briefly before meeting Sam’s eyes. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have criticized your parenting skills. Especially not, since I know that she is sick."

Someone walking by snorted loudly. "How can anyone not know she is sick? It's obvious."

Sam, Donna, Danny, and CJ all glared at him.

The man stopped to look more closely at them. He glanced back and force between Sam and CJ. "You guys work at the White House."

"Really? You think so?" Danny winced when CJ stepped on his foot.

The man was glaring at Sam now. "You’re the loser who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend and then didn’t even take the kid when she died in a car crash," he sneered. "You don’t deserve the kid."

Donna gasped.

Sam stepped closer to the stroller, protectively.

"You're not going to try to take her from her grandmother are you?" the man demanded. People were staring at them now.

Sam shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

"Mr. Seaborn has not decided what his plans are. As you would know if you paid any attention to my briefings," CJ stepped forward to answer.

He turned to Donna. "What are you doing with him anyway? Don’t you have any morals? In fact, what are you doing with her too?" he pointed to CJ. "All of the current important people in the West Wing are losers with no moral character," he said contemptuously.

The gathering crowd gasped as they pressed closer.

"What do you know of our character? You are the one slandering people you don’t even know," CJ countered.

"I happen to work with these people." Donna glared at him.

Danny had pulled out a note pad and was furiously writing down every word. He shoved his press pass into the man's line of sight. "Do you have a comment for my paper?"

"You're a journalist?"

CJ cringed.

Danny did not answer.

The man had turned back to Sam. "What, you have nothing to say?" He glanced at the crowd, "No guts."

Sam scowled at the man. "You are incorrect about everything you have said. You should check your facts before you speak."

"Really?"

"I did not know that my daughter existed until recently." He looked around at the crowd, "Alana Farrel said so on Oprah, if you don't believe me. I found out about Alex’s death at the same time that I found out about Serena." Sam glanced at Donna. "Donna Moss has far more moral character than you. As does CJ. You are incredibly ignorant."

CJ groaned. This could only get worse. She laid a hand on Sam’s shoulder. "Let’s go," she said quietly.

Sam shrugged away from CJ.

The man looked incredulous. " _I_ am ignorant?" He stepped closer, grinning. "I may not be a lawyer but I know more than you on many subjects."

Donna stepped up to the stroller. She pulled in farther from the now very large crowd.

Danny had joined Sam.

"Is he about to start a fight?" Donna whispered to CJ.

"I hope not. That is the last thing we need," CJ whispered back.

The man was so close that he was nearly touching Sam. "You're the stupid one," he sneered. He punched Sam in the nose.

Danny’s fist was in the man’s stomach.

"Did I ask you to get involved?" He shot an annoyed look at Danny as he pulled a gun out.

The crowd gasped. People started to run in the opposite direction, littering the ground with spilled soda, popcorn, and candy. The man ignored them. His attention was focused on Sam, Danny, Donna, and CJ. "You people need to learn who is actually ignorant."

Serena was screaming in her stroller. She could sense that something was wrong.

"Shut the brat up."

Donna took a cookie out of the diaper bag and handed it to the baby. Serena stopped crying as she chewed on the snack, watching all of the adults wearily, tears still running down her face.

They heard sirens in the distance. Someone must have called the police.

"I want you to apologize for calling me ignorant," the man instructed Sam.

"I am not going to apologize to you," Sam scoffed

Danny started laughing. "You are ignorant. You're holding three White House staffers and a member of the White House press core at gun point in the middle of a fair with who knows how many witnesses. What do you think the chances are that you aren't going to be caught?"

"You're calling me stupid now, too?" he laughed without any humor. "I have a gun and you are calling me names and you think I am stupid?" He pressed his gun into Danny’s gut.

Several police officers had arrived and were standing a cautious distance away. "Put the gun down," an officer called out.

He laughed even louder. "All four of these idiots need to apologize to me first. I am in charge."

"Let us have the baby," one of the officers said, staring at Serena’s stroller.

The man waved his hand carelessly. "Fine." He glanced at Donna, "Push the stroller toward him."

The cop quickly took the baby to his car, trying to calm her.

Donna stood tensely as she stared at the man. There was only one way out of this situation safely. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to upset you." Her voice was very soft.

"Say that louder."

Donna repeated what she had said.

The man smiled. "Three more to go."

Danny was glaring at Donna. Sam looked shocked by the whole situation. CJ was watching the man wearily.

The man moved his gun away from Danny. He pressed it to Sam’s shoulder. "Apologize."

"I am not going to lower myself by apologizing to someone like you."

He pulled the trigger.

Sam flinched. Danny clinched his fists. Donna whimpered. CJ cursed softly.

A bullet did not come out. The gun had jammed.

The man cursed as he pulled his gun away from the Sam. He pointed toward the police officers and pulled the trigger again. This time a bullet hit a tree. He pressed the gun against Sam again. He glanced at everyone expectantly.

"I am sorry," CJ said. She did not sound sorry.

The two men remained silent. They were not going to give in.

The man cursed. These two were very obstinate.

Sam and Danny watched wearily as the man stepped away from them. What was he up to? He was now walking toward CJ and Donna. Both women stepped back instinctively. He grabbed Donna’s wrist and yanked her to him. He stroked a finger over her cheek. "I would hate to have to hurt her," he stated as she flinched.

"I'm sorry," Sam gritted out through clenched teeth.

"You don’t sound sorry. You have to mean it."

Sam stared at Donna. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"That was better." He looked at Danny expectantly.

Danny snorted. "You're the one that needs to apologize, not I."

"You don't mind if I harm your friend?"

Danny did not answer.

The sound of gun shots echoed throughout the fair.

Everyone stared at the figures on the ground.


	2. Unexpected Changes 2

**Unexpected Changes**

**by:** Catgurl83

**Character(s):** Sam, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/Donna  
**Rating:** YTEEN, just to be on the safe side.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters that you recognize aren't mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made on this fic.  
**Summary:** Sam's life is about to change unexpectedly. Sam/Donna  
**Spoiler:** I can't think of any specifically  
 **Feedback:** Would be greatly appreciated.  
**Author's Note:**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking? You should have left immediately." Leo glared at CJ before turning

back to the TV. They were in a waiting room at the hospital. Josh, Leo, and Toby had joined CJ, Sam, Donna, and Danny as soon as they heard.

"It wasn’t that easy," CJ told him. "It all happened so quickly. I didn’t know he had a gun."

"A fist fight would not have been much better."

"I’m sorry."

"What were you doing at the fair with Danny Concannon anyway?"

CJ cringed, "We were on a date."

"A date? You, the Press Secretary, were on a date with a reporter?"

"Sam and Donna were on a date too," CJ said defensively.

"That is not the same as you are perfectly aware," Leo told her.

"Technically it wasn’t a date," Josh told them.

"Just because neither of them will admit that they are dating doesn’t mean that they aren’t," Toby interjected from his seat across the room.

Josh turned back to the TV. "Guys," he said as he turned it up. A picture of CJ was on the screen.

"Three members of the White House staff and one member of the press corps were involved in an altercation at a fair today." A picture of Sam came on screen. "Witnesses say that Deputy Communications Director Sam Seborn, Press Secretary CJ Cregg, Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss, and Washington Post reporter Danny Concannon got into an argument with an unknown man. The argument started when the man made a comment about Sam Seaborn's dying daughter Serena."

"She is not dying," Josh snorted.

"The argument progressed as the man criticized President Bartlet’s staff and their intelligence," the reporter continued. "Police were called when the man pulled a gun. The gunman was shot by a police officer after he shot Donna Moss. At this time we do not know what condition either of them are in. White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry arrived a half-hour ago along with Josh Lyman and Toby Zeigler. All three men refused to comment."

The door opened and Sam walked into the room.

"How is she?" Josh asked, concern evident in his voice.

"The bullet barely grazed her arm. She had to have stitches and she’ll have to wear a sling for a few weeks but she’ll be fine." He smiled. "She says it hurt more when they put the IV in than the bullet did."

Josh nodded, relieved. They all knew that he had been remembering his own gunshot wound.

"Where is Serena?" Sam asked, glancing around the room.

Leo motioned toward the corner of the room. Serena was asleep on a chair, her head resting on Toby’s lap.

Sam smiled at the tender sight.

"Do not say a word," Toby cautioned him.

"I’ll take her." Sam moved to get Serena.

"You’re leaving." CJ’s voice was incredulous.

"Of course not," Sam responded. "I just thought Toby might be more comfortable if I took Serena."

"Serena is fine. You'll wake her up if you try to move her," Toby told him gruffly.

Sam and CJ both hid smiles.

"Have you heard anything about the gunman?" Sam asked Leo.

"I spoke to a doctor right after I arrived. The bullet entered his shoulder. They are doing surgery to remove it. His name his Dillion Smith."

"I think he's a Republican," Josh added.

CJ shook her head, "You don’t know that."

"He was upset because he recognized you as working at the White House and he claimed that we are all losers," Josh pointed out, he gestured to the others in the room as he spoke.

"Josh is right. If Mr. Smith was a Democrat he probably would not think that the President’s Senior Staff are losers," Toby agreed.

Sam and Leo both nodded their agreement.

Sam turned to CJ. "Where is Danny?"

CJ rolled her eyes. "He went to file his story."

"He already wrote his story?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Oh, yeah. Didn’t you see him writing? I think he got everything that was said down, word for word. He said he’d be back later."

"Is he going to write that he was there with you?" Sam asked, glancing nervously at Leo.

 "Probably," CJ sighed.

"Won’t that cause problems?"

"Everyone already knows. It's all over the news." Josh spoke up.

"What are they saying?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Right now they are pretty much sticking to the basics. The majority of the speculating hasn’t started yet. I did hear one reporter say that you and Donna, and Danny and CJ were on a double date though."

"Great. What are they saying about Serena?"

"Not very much. I haven’t heard anything about the possible custody battle yet."

Sam shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" CJ asked wearily.

"I talked to my lawyer yesterday. I’m filing for custody tomorrow," Sam admitted quietly.

"Great. Perfect timing Sam. The press is going to love this," CJ told him with a sigh.

"Alana might try to say that Serena is not safe with you. That your job is hazardous to the baby’s health," Josh pointed out as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Have you called Alana yet?" Leo asked.

Sam shook his head, "Not yet."

"You should let her know what's going on, she is probably worried," Josh said grudgingly.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. He looked over at Toby. "Do you want me to move Serena before I go?"

"I already told you that Serena is fine," Toby grumbled.

"Oh my God."

Everyone turned to look at CJ. Her mouth was hanging open as she stared at the TV. She was punching the volume button almost violently.

Sam gasped as he turned his gaze to the television set. A picture of Serena was on the screen. The little girl was in a police officer’s arms, screaming, as he carried her over to his car.

"This picture was taken earlier today by Frank Albert, a tourist at the Orange Fair. The baby is White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn’s daughter Serena."

"Did either of you see the camera?" Leo demanded.

"I would have told you already," CJ responded, still staring at the captivating image.

Sam just shook his head, his eyes glued to his daughter's picture. She looked awful. It really magnified her illness. He turned to look at his little girl sleeping on Toby’s lap. She had a peaceful look on her face. The contrast was amazing. "Do you think she'll remember this?"

"Her illness or today?" CJ asked gently.

"Any of it." He was still staring at Serena.

CJ laid a hand on his shoulder. "I doubt it. She is so young."

"I hope you're right. She has been through so much and the next several months are probably going to be worse." He was thinking about the custody battle and the bone marrow transplant.

Finally, Sam walked toward the door. "I'm going to go call Alana."

************

A week and a half later Sam walked into his apartment. Donna was sitting on his living room floor playing with Serena. Both he and Donna had been shocked when Alana had agreed to allow Serena to spend another weekend in DC after she was served with court papers. Sam hoped that that was a good sign. That it meant that Alana would not fight him in court for permanent custody. He was willing to give her liberal visitation with Serena. He would even allow her to spend the holidays with them. Serena deserved to know her mother's side of her family

Donna looked up when she heard the front door open. She held her breath, waiting for Sam to say something. After what seemed like hours, Sam smiled. He held up a document. "I have temporary custody of Serena. The next court date is next month."

"When does the custody start? Does Alana get visitation?"

"Temporary custody of Serena starts immediately." He picked Serena up and kissed her forehead. "Alana is coming by in about an hour to say good-bye to the baby before she goes back to Baltimore. She can see Serena as often as she would like, within reason as long as she comes to DC. I have to allow her to spend the afternoon before our next court appearance with Serena."

Donna stood up. "She’s coming here? Would you like me to go?"

Sam shook his head, "Of course not."

"You don’t think that Alana will try to use this against you in the court battle? We've been spending a lot of time together lately."

"You didn't go with me to pick Serena up on Friday," Sam reminded her. "Besides, it's none of Alana’s business whom I spend my time with. Serena likes you and you're good with her."

"I know but you said that the social worker assigned to the case will meet with everyone important in your life. Everyone that spends a lot of time with Serena"

Sam nodded.

"What will you tell him or her about me? They will want to know?"

"I’ll tell the social worker that you are one of my two best friends. That you have been a big help with Serena and I probably wouldn’t have gotten through this so well without your help." He was walking upstairs now. Donna followed. He stopped in the bathroom and turned the water on, placing his hand under the stream to test the temperature. "Should I leave Serena in play clothes or put her in a dress?"

"Play clothes," Donna answered.

Sam nodded as he put Serena into the water. The child grabbed a bath sponge shaped like Flounder from The Little Mermaid. She submerged it in water and then threw it at Sam. It hit his forehead and dripped water down his face. Donna and Serena both burst out laughing.

Sam pretended to frown at Donna. "Don’t encourage her."

Donna tried to choke back the laughter but did not succeed. Serena was splashing water all over the bathroom now.

Sam finished the bath quickly and dried Serena off. He took her into her bedroom to change her.

As Sam changed the baby, Donna stood in the bedroom doorway. She still could not believe how fast the guestroom had become Serena’s room. The bed had been removed in exchange for the toddler bed. A soft white dresser had replaced the old oke dresser. A Barney lamp sat on top of the dresser and Barney bedding covered the bed. Barney curtains hung in the window and a Barney rug lay on the hard wood floor. A white book shelf held children’s books including several classics. A toy chest was overflowing with toys and the bed was piled high with stuffed animals.

In fact, the whole house had gone through a transformation. All of the outlets had plastic plugs in them. The corners of furniture had plastic covers. Cloth covers had been thrown over the sofas in the living room and family room. Baby gates stood at the top of the stairs, at the bottom of the stairs, and at the entrance to the kitchen. Latches had been put on all of the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. A booster seat was on a chair in the dining room. Sam had removed almost everything breakable in the living room and family room from Serena’s reach. A playpen had been placed near Sam's computer so that Serena would be near him while he worked at home on the weekends.

The doorbell rang.

"Could you get that?" Sam asked as he slipped one of Serena’s shoes onto her foot. "Take her into the family room."

Donna nodded and went to answer the door. "Hello Alana," she greeted the other woman with a forced smile.

Alana looked surprised to see Donna on the other side of the door.

"Sam and Serena will be downstairs soon. Come inside." She led the older woman to the family room. "Have a seat."

"I didn’t expect to see you this afternoon," Alana stated.

Donna did not respond.

"You and Sam must really be close."

Again, Donna did not answer.

"The pictures in the newspapers of you, Sam, and Serena were adorable."

"Yes they were," Donna agreed. "Serena is an adorable little girl."

"I was surprised to see you in them," Alana went on.

"Why?" Sam asked from the doorway. He walked over to them.

Serena ignored her grandmother and went straight to Donna.

Donna felt the woman’s glare as she looked down at the baby. "Serena do you want to go to grandma?"

"No," Serena said emphatically.

Sam was still waiting for Alana’s answer.

"Serena seems very attached to her," Alana observed.

"Yes," Sam agreed.

"They must spend a lot of time together."

Sam nodded. "There is nothing wrong with that. I am sure Serena is close to your friends."

"Not that close," Alana said pointedly.

Sam just shrugged.

"I'm still here," Donna reminded them both. She handed Serena to Alana and stood up. "We should give them some time alone."

Sam nodded. "We'll be across the hall in the living room," he told Alana.

Alana did not reply. Her attention seemed to be focused solely on Serena.

"I really don’t like her," Donna said quietly once they were in the living room.

"Neither do I."

"Are you going to encourage her to spend time with Serena?"

Sam nodded reluctantly. "I have to. Serena needs her. Both of my parents are dead. Besides, the court will probably order me to allow them to spend time together."

"How are you going to stand being around her?"

"I’ll probably avoid her as often as possible," he admitted softly.

Donna suddenly grinned. "Have you told anyone else that you won today?"

Sam shook his head.

"You need to let everyone know before they find out from the news."

He picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey CJ," he said once she had answered.

"Sam what’s going on? What happened in court?" she asked expectantly.

"I got temporary custody," Sam said, grinning.

"Congratulations Sam."

"I haven’t completely won yet," he reminded her. "This is only temporary. I have court again next month."

"Have you told any of the others?"

"Donna’s here with me. I haven’t spoken to anyone else. Would you mind letting Toby, Josh, and Leo know for me? Alana is here right now. I don’t want to make any more calls."

"Sure. Give Serena a kiss for me." CJ hung up.

Sam sunk down in a chair. "I’m going to have to find a nanny."

"How do you plan on finding one? Are you going to call an agency or place an ad?"

Sam looked at Donna. "The agencies check their nannies backgrounds, right? They fingerprint the applicants?"

"I think so," Donna answered.

"Then it would probably be safer to contact an agency. If I placed an ad someone dangerous could apply for the position, knowing who I am." Sam walked over to stand by the phone. He pulled out a phone book and started flipping through it. "There are seven agencies listed." He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down all seven names and numbers. Grabbing the phone, he punched in the first number. "Yes. I need a nanny for a twenty-two-month-old child."

"What is your name?"

"Sam Seaborn."

The woman did not pause. She was used to well known names calling the agency. "Would the nanny need to have any special qualifications?"

"She has to be first aid certified and she has to be experienced."

"All of our nannies are experienced and qualified," she assured him. "What hours would you need her to work?"

Sam hesitated. "I work in the White House. Her hours would have to flexible."

"Would she need to work any evenings or weekends?"

"She would definitely work a lot of evenings. She would occasionally have to work weekends. There would also be times when I would need her to travel with us."

"Live in?"

"Not mandatory but it might work out well that way."

"Is the child potty trained?"

"No, she is not," Sam answered somewhat defensively. Serena wasn’t even two yet.

"When would the job start?"

"As soon as possible."

"I have several nannies that fit you initial profile. Would you like to begin interviewing today?"

Sam blinked in surprise. "Yes, thank you. When would the first candidate arrive?"

"Would you be able to start interviewing in about two hours?"

Sam looked at his watch. Alana should be gone by then. "Yes."

She took down his address and phone number. He would be interviewing three possible nannies today. Several more would come by tomorrow. If he had not found someone for the position, he could continue interviewing the next day.

Alana knocked on the closed door. "I don’t want to interrupt anything but Serena needs a diaper change."

Donna glared at the woman and her insinuating tone.

"I’ll take her." Sam reached out to take his daughter.

Alana held her back. "I can change her. I just need to know where her things are."

"Go up the stairs. Serena’s room is the second door on the left," Sam reluctantly answered.

"So close to the stairs?" Alana sounded shocked.

"There are two baby gates up," Donna informed her. "The baby is perfectly safe."

Alana looked doubtful as she exited the room.

An hour and a half later Alana was saying goodbye to Serena. Serena did not look like she cared overly much.

"I’ll see you soon." She lowered her voice. "I promise you won’t have to live here very long."

She had not lowered her voice enough. Donna and Sam could both hear her.

"I'll miss you so much." She kissed Serena’s cheek. "I love you."

"Love you," Serena dutifully responded.

Alana raised her eyes to Sam’s face. "I would appreciate you keeping me up to date on Serena’s health."

"I will," Sam promised.

The woman finally left, obviously very reluctantly.

"Do you want a snack Serena?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Snack."

Sam picked her up and walked to the kitchen. He sat her at the table with crackers, cheese, and milk. He and Donna stood near the table talking.

Sam turned when the doorbell rang. Leaving Serena with Donna, he went to answer the door.

"I’m Sam Seaborn. Come inside."

They shook hands. "I am Clarise Henderson," the woman told him.

Sam took her to the living room. "Have a seat Ms. Henderson." She did not look very old. Twenty-two or three at the most. She had red hair and green eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.    

"How long have you been working with small children?"

"I've been working for the agency for almost two years. Before that I did a lot of babysitting."

"What qualifications do you have?"

"I have a first aid certificate and I have a degree in early childhood development. My fingerprints are on file at the police department."

"Have you ever had any experience potty training?"

"No," she admitted.

"How old was the youngest child you cared for?" Sam asked. He was writing down her answers to compare with other applicants.

"Three," she answered.

Sam frowned. "Have you ever worked with an ill child?"

"What do you mean by ill? Like the flu or a cold? Of course I have. Many times," she smiled. She thought that it was cute when father's were so overprotective.

"I was referring to serious illness."

"I have never worked with a seriously ill child before."

"My daughter has leukemia. How would you feel about working with her?"

Clarise hesitated. "I really don’t know. The agency didn’t tell me that your daughter is sick. I’m sorry." She waited a moment and then stood up. "I don’t think I'm the right nanny for your daughter Mr. Seaborn."

The next applicant arrived a few minutes later. Her name was Elisabeth Grayson. 

"How long have you been working with children?"

The woman was probably in her thirty’s and had worn a suit for the interview. "I have been with the agency for five years. My previous employer was a couple in Los Angeles. I worked for them for three years directly after college. I have a liberal arts degree."

"What is the longest amount of time you have spent with the same family?"

"The three years that I spent in LA. The second longest was a year. I was placed with that family by the agency," she answered.

"My daughter has leukemia. How do you feel about taking care of a sick child?"

"I believe that I would be good with her. I have never worked with a seriously ill child before but I think I could do it," she answered confidently.

"How do you feel about traveling?"

"How often would you need me to travel? I don’t mind doing it occasionally."

"I travel relatively often. You know where I work?"

"You're Deputy Communications Director at the White House," she answered without hesitation.

 "How do you feel about that?"

She shrugged, "I really don’t care where you work."

"You would have to spend time at the White House with Serena," Sam told her.

She shrugged again. "I wouldn't mind that."

Donna walked into the room carrying Serena. She sat down on the couch next to Sam. Serena watched Elisabeth curiously.

"Donna this is Elisabeth Grayson. Ms. Grayson this is Donna Moss." He purposely did not introduce Serena to the woman.

"Do you have any questions for me Ms. Grayson?"

"Do you need a live in nanny?"

"That would be nice but it is not absolutely necessary," Sam answered.

"If I took the job I would not be able to be live in," she told him. "Would you want me to stay here with your daughter or could I take her places?"

"What places?" Sam asked cautiously.

She shrugged, "Just places."

"All outings would have to be cleared with me first."

The doorbell rang. Donna went to answer it while Sam ended the interview. She brought a very young woman into the room. She was probably about twenty or twenty-one. She smiled at Serena as she sat down. Her name was Amy Lerius.

Sam flipped to a clean sheet of paper. "How much experience do you have with children?" He already knew he was not hiring her. She could not know how to properly take care of a young child. She was barely more than a child herself.

Her smile broadened. "I am the second oldest of seven children. My youngest sister is only five. I also have lots of younger cousins. I started working in my church’s children’s Sunday school room when I was fifteen. My mom has a daycare in our home. I helped her until I signed on with the agency. I have been working as a nanny under them for a year now," she explained cheerfully.

"How long were you with your last family?"

"Eight months. They just moved to the West Coast and I didn't want to leave DC."

"How would you feel about working with a sick child?" Sam asked her.

"I have a little brother with diabetes. I am use to watching him for symptoms and entertaining him in the hospital," she answered softly. She was studying Serena, her eyes filled with compassion.

"You have first aid training?"

"Yes, I do."

"You know that I work in the White House? You would have to spend time there with Serena," he warned.

"That would be fine," she grinned, "I wasn’t old enough to vote for President Bartlet but my parents voted for him and I plan on voting for him in the next election."

"You would have to travel with us quite a bit," he told her.

"I don’t mind."

"Would you be able to live in?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I would."

"Do you have any plans that would prevent you from staying with us long term?"

"No."

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, I don’t."

He walked her to the door.

"She is wonderful," Donna said as soon as he came back.

Sam sighed, "Except for her age, she is."

"Don’t hold her age against her. She seems mature, polite, and sweet. She could do this job. I think Serena will like her better than that Grayson women. She seemed so dour."

"I know."

"So, hire her," Donna encouraged.

"I'm going to interview a few more people tomorrow. If I don’t find someone whom I think would work out better than I’ll hire Amy," Sam told her.

Donna nodded, smiling. He was not going to find someone better than Amy.

**********

"Hey Sam."

Sam looked up to see Zoey standing in his doorway. "Hi Zoey."

"How’s Serena?"

Sam sighed. "She had a fever this morning. I told Amy to call if it got worse and she hasn’t. I am really afraid that Serena is getting really sick again. She’s lost weight."

"What does her doctor say?" Zoey asked, concern was evident in her voice.

"The doctor says that Serena is going to keep getting sicker until she gets a bone marrow transplant."

The girl nodded sympathetically. "How is the new nanny working out?"

"She is really good with Serena. I think that she is too young though."

Zoey laughed. "Still? Donna told me you thought that but she was sure you’d get over it."

"Maybe I will. She is good with Serena."

"How are you and Donna doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on," Zoey laughed, "You aren’t going to tell me that you two aren’t a couple?"

"We aren’t."

She was incredulous. "Really? You two are perfect for each other."

Sam couldn’t keep himself from grinning. "Maybe we would be."

"Then why aren’t you dating her?"

"There is too much going on right now. Serena has to be my priority," Sam explained.

"But Donna adores Serena. She spends so much time with you and Serena."

"Yes, but I can’t expect her to continue doing that. Not if things get worse. The custody battle is not going to be fun. Serena could get sicker at any time. She might not want to be around if that happens."

"Yes, she will. She really loves that little girl and I think she loves you too."

Sam’s cell phone rang. "Yes?" He listened for a moment. "This is Sam Seaborn." The person on the other end of the phone said something else and Sam immediately stood up. "That was the lab," he told Zoey as he hung the phone up. "The results are in. Could you let Leo know that I’m leaving?" He didn’t wait for her answer before stepping out of his office.

He stopped by Josh’s office before leaving. Donna insisted on going with him. For once Josh did not protest against his assistant leaving. Neither spoke as they drove to the lab. Inside, they were taken to the doctor’s office immediately.

"Mr. Seaborn, please sit down."

Sam and Donna both sat, their hands clasped. "What were the results?" Sam asked. He had to know, now.

The doctor shook his head. "I’m sorry. You’re not a match."

"How can I not be a match for my own daughter?" Despair was evident in his voice. Donna tightened her grip on his hand.

"Parents are not usually the best bet for a match. It is very unfortunate that Serena does not have any siblings," the doctor told them with a sympathetic smile.

"What are the chances of the National Registry finding a match for Serena?" Sam asked, hopefully.

"There is a very small chance."

"Your sister still hasn’t been tested," Donna reminded Sam.

Sam nodded. "I'll call Patty when I get back to the White House."

"Doctor, I’m not related to Serena but neither are the people in the registry. I’d like to get tested just incase."

Sam smiled gratefully at Donna.

"If you have time, we could test you today," the doctor offered helpfully.

Donna and Sam both quickly nodded. They had all the time in the world when it came to doing things that could save Serena’s life.

A few hours later Donna walked into Josh’s office. He looked up at her. "I’m sorry." He could see the answer to his silent question on her face. "How is Sam?"

"Not well. He has to face the fact that his daughter has a potentially deadly disease and he can’t do anything for her." Donna paused briefly. "I got tested today."

Josh smiled. It did not surprise him. In fact, he would have been surprised if she hadn't gotten tested on the off chance that she was a suitable match.

"I want you to get tested."

Josh just stared at her. "Me?" he finally stammered.

"Yes, you. People donate bone marrow to strangers all of the time. Why shouldn’t you get tested to see if you can help your best friend’s daughter?"

Josh shook his head. She had him there. "Why do you always have to make me feel guilty?"

Donna grinned, "Because your conscience doesn't work very well."

He sighed, "I’ll get tested tomorrow."

"Good." She spun around, "I’ll be back soon."

Donna hurried to Toby’s office. She stopped to talk to everyone she saw on the way. By the time she reached his office eleven people not counting Josh had committed to get a test done the next day.

"Toby?"

Toby didn’t look up.

"I just thought you’d want to know that Sam is not a match for Serena," she said softly.

Toby looked up at her. "I didn't even know that the results came back."

"We just got back from the lab." She walked into the office and sat down across from him, lowering her voice even more. "Serena is getting sick again. She's lost several pounds in the last few weeks. She had a fever this morning."

Toby blinked several times. How could such a sweet little girl have such awful luck? Why couldn’t Sam be a match?

"We have to find a match soon or it’ll be too late," Donna whispered.

"What can I do?" Toby asked simply.

Donna smiled softly. People were scared of Toby. They thought that he was cross all of the time. They didn’t understand that under the gruff exterior he was a giant Teddy Bear. He had a softer heart than most people that she knew. He just guarded it well. "You could get tested to see if you're a match."

Toby nodded. "I’ll be tested tomorrow." He looked back down at the papers on his desk and Donna knew that it was her sign to leave.

"Thank you," she said before walking out.

She found CJ next.

"How is Serena? I heard that Sam got the test results back today."

"He isn't a match."

"What now?" CJ asked.

"We wait to see if a match is found."

CJ shook her head. "I hate that it has to be left so much to chance."

"It doesn’t."

CJ frowned in confusion. What did Donna mean?

"The more people that get tested, the better the chance of finding a match," Donna explained.

CJ smiled. "I’ll get tested today. Do you want me to get as many people as I can to be tested?"

Donna smiled gratefully. "That would be great."

CJ’s smile turned to a malicious grin. "I’ll make all of the reporters assigned to the White House get tested." She loved being able to control people. "Have you talked to Toby?"

Donna nodded, suppressing her laugh at the mischievous glimmer in CJ's eyes.

CJ sighed, "Too bad. I’ll go get the test done now."

Donna continued to walk through the West Wing, stopping to talk to everyone she knew. Almost everyone agreed to get tested. Sam still didn’t know what she was doing.

***********

"Happy birthday, dear Serena. Happy birthday to you." They were in President Bartlet’s Residence for the party he and Abbey were having for Serena.

Serena’s face lit up as a large pink cake was carried into the room. It was covered in flickering candles. Sam picked Serena up and held her so that she could try to blow the candles out. "Blow," he instructed.

She tried to blow and nothing happened. She tried again. "Help," she commanded. Those closest to the cake leaned forward and helped Serena blow. This time the candles went out.

A steward cut the cake and passed the slices out. Serena got the first piece. She brought a small bite to her mouth with her fork. She frowned as she chewed. Laying her fork down, she grabbed a large chunk with her hand. Grinning, she put the entire chunk into her mouth. Everyone else laughed. She ended up with more cake on her dress than in her stomach.

"Serena is so cute," CJ said to Toby.

Toby came very close to smiling as he watched the child. "Yes, she is."

"Have you met her new nanny?"

Toby shook his head.

CJ gestured to Amy, who was talking to Josh across the room. "She is really sweet. Donna told me that Sam still thinks that she is too young to watch Serena though. Donna also says that Amy is wonderful with Serena."

"She does look young. Sam is concerned because of Serena’s illness." He frowned as he watched the girl.

CJ rolled her eyes. "Not you too?"

 Toby ignored the question.

"Okay everyone. It is time for Serena to open her presents," President Bartlet called.

Toby and CJ joined the others in the center o the room.

Serena sat in the middle of the floor on Donna’s lap. Sam stood near them. Everyone else sat in chairs in a semi circle around them. Zoey stood near the table full of presents, ready to hand them to the child. She handed Serena a small box wrapped in bright pink paper. "This one is from Danny," Donna read. Serena tore the paper off. She held Malibu Barbie up. "Tank you," she said before throwing the toy at her dad, who managed to catch it but barely.

Donna looked at the tag on a gift bag. "This is from Toby." The bag was full of books. "Tank you," Serena said again as Sam moved the bag out of the way.

The next present was a doll from Zoey. Serena started screaming as soon as she heard it talk. She climbed off of Donna’s lap and ran to her dad. It took Sam ten minutes to calm her down so she could open another present.

"This one is from Charlie." Serena pulled a stuffed Barney out of the bag. Everyone winced when the toy started singing but Serena just started singing along with it. She laid it down beside her to open her next present once the signature song had finished but kept one hand on the stuffed toy.

Zoey handed Serena a gift bag from Josh. Serena frowned when she looked at the two disks inside the bag, she had no idea what they were. "These are games for the computer," Donna explained to her before handing them to Sam.

Amy’s gift was a doll and several pieces of doll clothes, CJ gave Serena a set of several Barney videos, Leo gave the child a dress and matching shoes.

Zoey handed the child her present from President and Dr. Bartlet. It was an easy bake oven. Sam groaned, as he imagined the messes that this was going to cause. President Bartlet laughed at Sam’s reaction. "You don’t like the gift?"

Sam just looked at him, not wanting to insult the President but also not wanting to lie.

"It won’t be that bad," Abbey assured him, "She won’t show interest in the oven for a couple of years."

Next came Donna’s present to the child. Serena smiled when she looked at the large doll. The doll stood a little taller than she did. It was made to walk along with Serena. Serena stood up and took several steps with it. Finally, Donna took the doll and put it with the rest of Serena’s presents.

Last, Serena was given Sam’s present. It was a large dollhouse. All of the pieces were in a bag, waiting to be arranged inside the house. Serena loved it. She would not leave it alone. Eventually everyone started talking to each other while she played with her new toys.

"Have you received the results of the tests back from the lab?" Abbey asked Sam.

Sam shook his head. He could not help the smile that came to his face. He still could not believe what Donna had done. She had gotten nearly everyone that they knew to go get tested. Well, she hadn’t actually talked to all of them herself. She had gotten others, like CJ, to help her so that the word would spread faster. In addition to White House staffers, several Senators and members of the house had gotten tested. Lots of staff members to Senators and Congresspersons had been tested as well. Zoey had gotten many of her classmates to be tested. Josh and Toby had gotten everyone in their apartment complex’s to get tested. In all, hundreds of people had been tested because of Serena. There had to be a match there somewhere.

"How is Serena doing?"

"According to the doctor, her white blood count is too low. There are days, like today, when she seems all right. There are other times when she barely moves all day. She gets fevers more often now. She barely eats. We desperately need a match."

"You’ll get one," Abbey assured him. "If there isn’t a match in this group of samples, we’ll get others to be tested. We all know more people."

Sam smiled thankfully. Everyone had been wonderful these last few months. He was very fortunate to have such a wonderful group of friends.

Across the room, Donna and Josh were talking. "Serena looks better."

Donna smiled. "She’s really enjoying all of this attention."

"She looked awful yesterday," Josh went on.

"You saw Serena yesterday?" Donna asked in surprise.

"I stopped by while you were at your apartment. Serena was laying on the sofa. She didn’t even seem to know I was there."

Donna’s smile faded. "She is like that more and more often now. Sam told me that the doctor says that she’ll probably have to be hospitalized soon."

"How do you think Sam will handle that?" Josh asked in concern.

"Not well. He’s only known about his daughter for a few months but they got close so fast. You know Sam, he is so sensitive."

"Serena is a wonderful kid. It's awful that she has to go through this." Josh looked over at the child who was dressing her new Barbie with Zoey’s help. "I’ve noticed that you’re getting closer to Serena. Anyone who didn’t know the true situation would think that you are her mother."

Donna stiffened defensively. She hoped he wasn’t going to chastise her about getting to close to Serena, again.

"What does Sam think about it?"

"He hasn’t said," Donna answered flatly.

"He is encouraging it. He has encouraged this from the start," Josh disagreed. "Do you think he was hoping that you and Serena would bond?"

"Maybe," she admitted.

"How do you feel?"

"Oh My God!"

Everyone in the room turned at Zoey’s scream. Serena was lying on the ground completely still.

Dr. Bartlet ran to them. "What happened?" she asked as she checked the toddler's pulse.

"She just collapsed." Zoey turned to Sam. "We were just playing and all of a sudden she passed out. I’m sorry." Zoey was nearly hysterical. Donna moved to the girl’s side. "This is not your fault Zoey. This could have happened at any time."

"She needs to go to the hospital," Dr. Bartlet announced.

"I already told Ron to get an ambulance here for her," President Bartlet announced from his spot by the phone.

Several minutes later Sam climbed into the ambulance with Serena.

Josh pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Come on. I’ll take you to the hospital," he told Donna.

"We’ll be there soon," CJ called to him from her spot by Toby.

**********

Sam sat next to a small hospital bed with Donna perched on the arm of his chair. They were both watching the incredibly still toddler. She had not moved since the nurse put her in the bed. She had an IV and was on a ventilator to help her breathing.

"Mr. Seaborn?" The doctor hurried into the room.

Sam looked up to see Serena’s doctor standing near the doorway.

Dr. Reed looked at Donna. "Could I speak to Mr. Seaborn privately?"

Donna started to stand but Sam caught her hand. "She can stay."

"Serena is not doing well. I would like to start chemotherapy again immediately. You still haven’t received the results back from the lab?"

Sam shook his head, "No. The results should be back at any time. I’ll let you know as soon as they're back."

"Good. Serena has got to have a transplant as soon as possible," she reiterated what she had already told him. "We are going to need to keep her in the hospital for several days at least."

Sam nodded. "Thank you."

Toby, CJ, Amy, and Zoey walked into the hospital waiting room where they found Josh. "Have you heard anything?"

He shook his head.

They all sat down and joined him in staring at the clock.

"Guys?"

Everyone looked up when Sam and Donna walked into the room.

"How is she?" Josh asked, standing.

Donna just shook her head.

"I just called my priest," Sam told them quietly. "He is on his way over here. We are going to christen Serena just incase."

CJ and Zoey both nodded. They understood completely. Josh and Toby both looked mildly uncomfortable at the mention of the Catholic ceremony.

Sam looked at Josh. "I’d like you to be Serena’s Godfather."

Josh shifted uncomfortably. "You know I’m Jewish Sam. Are you sure you want me?"

Sam nodded empathetically. "I had already decided that I wanted you to be Serena’s Godfather. I planned to wait to have her christened though. I wanted to have the christening done in a church with everyone close to us there. But now... I don’t want to take the chance."

"Okay. I’ll do it. Who is going to be the Godmother?"

"Donna," Sam answered.

Everyone smiled. That is exactly what they had expected.

"I’d like all of you to be at the christening," Sam went on, "You are all like family to me. I wish that the Bartlet’s and Leo could be here but I know that that is not possible."

A few minutes later the priest arrived and they all went into Serena's room. Donna felt tears spring to her eyes as the baby was christened. She glanced at Zoey and CJ and noticed that they too were crying. Amy looked like she was about to cry. Even Toby, looked moved by the ceremony.

The priest finished his job and quietly left. "Let me know if you need me," he said quietly to Sam before he left.

Sam just nodded, silently praying that he didn’t need to call the priest.


	3. Unexpected Changes 3

**Unexpected Changes**

**by:** Catgurl83

**Character(s):** Sam, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/Donna  
**Rating:** YTEEN, just to be on the safe side.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters that you recognize aren't mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made on this fic.  
**Summary:** Sam's life is about to change unexpectedly. Sam/Donna  
**Spoiler:** I can't think of any specifically  
 **Feedback:** Would be greatly appreciated.  
**Author's Note:**

* * *

"I’m going to go with you."

Sam shook his head. "Donna, I’ll be fine." Serena had been in the hospital for three days and was showing no improvement. Now, Sam had to go to court.

"Sam you need me."

Sam’s face softened. "Yes I do, but I want you to stay here. Serena needs you more than I do. I don’t want her left alone."

Donna stepped closer to Sam. "I already thought of that. CJ is going to come stay with Serena for a couple of hours. Zoey will come take over."

Sam took Donna’s wrist and pulled her even closer. He gently brushed his lips over hers.

Donna was stunned when the kiss was over. This was the first time he had done something so obvious. They had been standing on the edge of a romantic relationship until now. "Sam?"

"I need you. Especially now." He didn’t actually say, now that Serena is dying, but the words hung in the air around them.

"I’m yours. I have been since I met you," she said softly.

Sam chuckled, "For a while I thought you were in love with Josh."

Donna joined Sam in laughing. "I thought I had feelings for him too. We would never work out though. He is more of a big brother or a best friend," she confided.

Sam’s laughter faded completely. "I think he is in love with you."

"What are we going to do?" she asked softly.

"We're going to tell Josh and the others as soon as we can. He won’t be surprised. I think he has been expecting this for weeks now."

"Am I interrupting something?" CJ asked from the doorway.

"No. Come in," Sam invited.

"You two have finally decided to be a couple?" It was more of a comment than a question.

Sam and Donna both nodded.

"Good. Have you told Josh yet?"

"No."

"He might not take it well," CJ warned them. She hesitated as she looked at both of them. Finally she decided that they already knew that he was in love with Donna.

"He's my best friend. I don’t want to hurt him," Sam told her.

CJ nodded. She knew how close the two men were. They were as close as brothers, if possible, closer.

They spoke about Serena for a few minutes before Donna and Sam left.

***********

Alana was on the witness stand.

"Why do you think you are the best person to raise your granddaughter?" her lawyer asked.

"As the court already knows, the child is very ill. She needs, and will need for a long time, a significant amount of care. I do not work so I have the time to care for Serena. Her father, Sam Seaborn, does not have that time. He works more than full time. As long as Serena lives with him she will be raised by a nanny."

"Besides his career, do you think Mr. Seaborn has the life style necessary to raise a small child?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He is a young, healthy, bachelor. He is used to living a life not suitable for a young child. She needs stability. Mr. Seaborn brought his latest girlfriend with him the first time he met Serena. Serena has been around her father’s girlfriend almost nonstop since then. She has to have gotten attached. It will hurt her when they break up," Alana explained.

"Objection," Sam’s lawyer stood, "Everything she just said was speculation."

"Sustained," the Judge said.

He asked a few more questions and Sam’s lawyer stood up. "Mrs. Farrel, do you have any reason to believe that Mr. Seaborn is not being the best possible parent that he can be?"

"Well, no."

"Do you believe that he loves his daughter?"

"Um, I don’t know. He hasn’t known her very long."

"Are you aware that Mr. Seaborn and his friends got nearly three hundred people to be tested to see if they are bone marrow matches for Serena?"

 "I heard something about that," she admitted reluctantly. How could she not have? Their little publicity stunt had gotten enough news coverage, she thought sourly.

"You don’t think that that type of action shows love?" The lawyer sounded incredulous.

"I guess that does show that he loves her," Alana said reluctantly.

"Have you seen your granddaughter’s bedroom at her father’s home?"

"Yes," Alana admitted.

"Did the room look well put together? Like Mr. Seaborn put thought into it?" the lawyer prodded.

"Yes it did," Alana sighed.

"Does Mr. Seaborn allow you to speak to your granddaughter on the telephone?"

"Yes."

"Who makes the phone call?"

"Sometimes I do and sometimes he does," she admitted reluctantly.

"So, Mr. Seaborn has made an effort to include you in Serena’s life?"

"Yes," she sighed again.

"No further questions."

Sam was called to the stand next.

"Where do you work?" Alana’s lawyer asked.

"I work at the White House."

"Approximately how many hours a day?"

"I couldn’t say. It depends on what is going on," Sam hedged.

"Give me a guess," the lawyer instructed.

"Sometimes I’ll work up to fifteen hours in a day," he admitted. "But not often since I’ve had Serena."

"Where is Serena while you are at work?"

"She is at home most of the day, with her nanny. She comes to my office for lunch most of the time and stays for a couple of hours."

"How old is Serena’s nanny?" the lawyer asked.

"Twenty-one."

"Has she had any experience with children with cancer?"

"No," Sam admitted.

"Donnatella Moss was with you the first time you met your daughter?"

"Yes, she was."

 "She was also with you the second time you saw Serena, when you picked the child up for the weekend?"

"Yes."

"She was in all of the pictures that the newspaper photographers got of Serena and yourself?"

"Yes," Sam said again.

"She is with you a lot."

"Objection. That was not a question," Sam’s lawyer spoke up.

"Stick to questions," the Judge instructed.

"What is your relationship with Donnatella Moss?"

"We work together and have become close friends," Sam told him.

The lawyer arched a brow. "You're just friends? Do you always spend so much time with friends?"

"No, I don’t."

"Do you have a romantic relationship with Miss. Moss?"

Sam took a deep breath and looked at Donna. She was sitting perfectly straight, holding her breath. "Yes, I do."

"How often is Miss. Moss around Serena?"

"That depends on the day."

"As I understand Serena has been in the hospital for three days. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then Serena did not go into the hospital until Sunday night?"

"That is correct," Sam answered.

"How many hours did Serena spend with Miss. Moss on Sunday?"

"Several hours," Sam admitted.

"How many hours did they spend together on Saturday?"

"Donna was with us almost all day Saturday."

Again, the lawyer raised an eyebrow. "And on Friday?"

Sam sighed, "Several hours."

"So it is safe to guess that Miss. Moss spends almost as much time with Serena as you do?"

"Almost as much time." Sam stressed the almost.

"Do you and Miss. Moss live together?"

"No, we don’t." Sam glared at the lawyer. It wouldn't be any of his business if they did live together. It did not affect the quality of care that Serena received.

"Did she help you pick out Serena’s things?"

"Yes," Sam admitted.

Finally the lawyer finished and Sam’s lawyer stood up. "How close are Donna and Serena?"

"They are very close."

"Serena likes Donna?"

"Yes she does."

"How does Donna feel about the child?"

"Objection," Alana’s lawyer said. "Mr. Seaborn does not know how Miss. Moss feels."

"Sustained."

"Has Donna told you how she feels about the child?"

Sam nodded as a smile lit his face. "She has told me several times that Serena is irresistible, that no one that meets Serena can resist adoring her. She told me that she loves Serena."

Donna smiled as Alana scowled.

"How long have you known Donna Moss?"

Sam thought a moment. "Since President Bartlet’s first campaign. About six years now."

"How long have you been friends?" the lawyer asked.

Sam smiled again. "Since we met."

"Are you in love with her?"

Alana’s mouth dropped open. Her lawyer looked like he might be about to object.

Sam met Donna’s shocked gaze. He had not known that his lawyer was going to ask this question. He didn’t know how to respond. Finally, he decided on the truth.

************

"What were you thinking?" Leo asked Sam later that day. The Senior Staff and Donna were all in his office. Zoey was with Serena at the hospital.

"I was under oath. What did you expect me to do?" Sam asked quietly.

Leo sat back down. "You should have found a way to refuse to answer the question. You're a lawyer."

Sam sighed. "I couldn’t think of a way to not answer. I told the truth. Would you have preferred I lie?"

"No." Leo turned, "And you."

"Donna didn’t do anything wrong," Josh and Sam both insisted at the same time. CJ hid a smirk. Toby looked bored.

Leo glared at them both. "She did exactly what she is doing now; she grinned." He looked at Donna. "There are pictures of you all over of the TV."

"I didn’t know anyone was going to take pictures," Donna protested, "I didn’t even know that Sam’s lawyer was going to ask that question."

"Neither did I," Sam put in.

Leo turned his attention to CJ. "How is this going to play in the press?"

"So far it is playing well. Everyone thinks that Sam, Donna, and Serena are adorable together." She paused.

"By the end of the day people will be speaking out against the relationship though. They are going to say that Sam and Donna have been a couple all along and weren’t honest about it. They’ll say that since Sam and Donna work together their relationship is not ethical."

"Sam isn’t her boss," Josh protested.

CJ shrugged, "That won’t matter." She looked at Sam. "They might even say that you and Donna aren’t really a couple. That you are pretending because of the custody battle."

"What are we going to do?"

"Try to stay away from the press. We do not need a repeat of your first weekend with Serena," Toby stated.

CJ groaned.

Sam’s cell phone rang and Leo glared at him. Sam swallowed as he answered his phone. "Hello? This is

Sam Seaborn." Sam sat up straight. "I’ll be there as soon as possible."

"Is it Serena?" Donna asked anxiously.

"That was the lab. Most of the results are in."

"Which lab?" CJ asked. When so many people agreed to get tested, they had had to find several extra labs.

"The first one," Sam answered as he stood up. Donna stood up too.

Josh looked at Leo. "I’d like to go with them."

Leo nodded. "CJ, Toby, you can both go as well, if you’d like."

CJ and Toby both nodded as they stood.

"Let me know how things go," Leo told them as they all left. 

***********

"Mr. Seaborn." The receptionist stood up when Sam walked in. "The doctor told me to bring you back to his office as soon as you arrived." She looked hesitantly at Josh, Toby, CJ, and Donna.

"I’d like them all to come with me," Sam told her.

She shrugged, "Okay. Follow me." She led them to the doctor’s office.

The doctor looked surprised when he saw how many people were with Sam. He motioned to a couch. "Some of you can sit over there." Toby, Josh, and CJ went over to the couch. Sam and Donna sat in the two chairs in front of the desk.

"I have to admit that it is unusual for us to run so many different tests for the same person." The doctor told them. "I don’t think I have ever tested so many well known names."

Josh grinned, "This is an unusual case. The child in question calls President Bartlet 'Uncle Jed.'"

The doctor chuckled. "With so many tests, which would you like me to read first?"

Sam shrugged, "It doesn't really matter."

The doctor glanced down at the papers on his desk. "Your sister is not a match. Nor are either of her children." No one showed any emotion. "Josh Lyman is not a match." He read several more names. None of them matched. "Donna Moss is not a match." The doctor looked sympathetic. He knew that every name read that didn’t match was difficult for them. CJ and Zoey were not matches. Leo was not a match. The doctor read a few more names. "There is only one name left," he finally said. "Toby Zeigler."

Everyone held his or her breath.

The doctor looked up, smiling. "He's a match."

Donna and Sam kissed. Donna stood up and ran over to Toby, kissing his cheek. CJ did the same. Josh patted Toby's shoulder. Sam shook Toby's hand. "Thank you for saving my baby's life," he whispered.

Toby sat looking uncomfortable through all of it.

"I need to let Serena's doctor know," Sam said. "Toby will you come with me? You can hear about the procedure."

Toby stood up. "I'll go with you."

"I'm going too," Donna said.

"We'll go back to the White House to let everyone know," CJ said as she and Josh stood.

"Thank you very much doctor," Sam said before they all left.

***************

"Serena will be fine as soon as she has her bone marrow transplant?" Toby pressed.

"I didn't say that," the doctor said. "She will probably be fine but nothing is definite. There could be complications."

"What kind of complications?" Donna asked worriedly.

"We have to destroy what is left of Serena's immune system. She could get an infection. Or Serena's body could reject the transplanted marrow," the doctor explained.

"When can we do the transplant?" Sam asked.

"We should do the transplant within the next few weeks," the doctor answered. "Before Serena gets any weaker." She looked at Toby, "When is a good time for you?"

"Anytime," Toby answered without hesitation.

"What about your job? Won’t you need to get time off?" she asked.

"My boss will work with me. When can you do the transplant?"

The doctor looked at her calendar. "Next Monday."

"That will be fine," Toby said.

Sam nodded his agreement.

"I'd like to stop by Serena's room while we're here," Sam said as he, Donna, and Toby walked out into the hallway.

Donna took his hand. "That's a good idea." She smiled, "We can give Zoey the good news."

"We can tell Serena too," Sam added as they started walking.

Donna laughed, "She's two."

"So?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So, she probably won't understand," Donna explained.

 Sam gave her a mock reproachful look. "Serena may only be two but she is a very smart little girl. She understands everything that is said to her."

Toby, who was walking behind them, snorted.

Sam turned around to glare at the other man. "What?"

"She understands everything you say?" Toby waited until Sam nodded. "So why did it take you so long to calm her down at the birthday party? She must have understood you the first time you told her that the doll wouldn't hurt her."

Donna tried to hide her giggle. By the look Sam gave her, she did not succeed.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Toby decided to relent just a little bit. "She is a very smart little girl Sam. She understands a lot more than most children her age do.'' He paused a moment.

"The only way she could be any more advanced would be if she were mine."

Sam gave Toby a small smile. "Could you be anymore egotistical?"

Toby pretended to think a moment. "I suppose I could if I tried."

They turned a corner and the smiles faded from all three of their faces. Zoey, Josh, and CJ all stood outside Serena's room. Josh was hugging Zoey while CJ talked on her cell phone.

Sam broke into a run. He went past the group into Serena's room. "Where is my daughter?" he demanded of Josh when he realized that Serena was not in the room.

"The doctors took her," Zoey said softly

"Why?" Sam demanded. "What happened?"

Donna silently stepped up beside Sam. He pulled her closer.

"Serena got worse Sam," Josh explained in a soft voice. "The doctor's took her for a few tests."

"Worse how?" Toby asked when it became apparent that Sam wasn’t going to. Sam was now holding Donna even closer. He looked too stunned to talk.

"She was really hot and then she stopped breathing," Zoey answered haltingly.

CJ put a hand on the girl's shoulder. The poor kid was with Serena both times she got really sick.

Sam didn't show any reaction.

"What are Josh and CJ doing here?" Toby asked.

"I called them because I couldn't find you." She looked at Sam, "Your cell phone is off."

"I turned it off at the lab. I must have forgotten to turn it back on," Sam replied woodenly.

"I did too," Toby said.

"When did it happen?" Donna asked.

"About forty-five minutes ago," CJ said.

"Are they going to let us know when the tests are done?" Sam asked.

Zoey nodded.

 "CJ, just so you know, you're not allowed to talk on cell phones inside hospitals," Toby informed her.

She gave him a dirty look. "There isn't anyone around to know, besides, I doubt that someone would tell me that I can't call the White House Chief of Staff."

The minutes passed slowly. Sam started to pace back and forth in front of the door. Zoey and Donna stared through the window into Serena's room. CJ and Josh were both on their cell phones. Toby was writing on a note pad.  

"Mr. Seaborn?"

Everyone looked up, startled. They hadn't heard the doctor approach.

"I'm Sam Seaborn," Sam told the unfamiliar doctor.

"I'm Dr. Phelps. I need to speak to you about your daughter. Could you come with me?"

"Where are we going?" Sam was confused.

"We have a private waiting room ready," the doctor answered.

"Why?" Toby asked.

Dr. Phelps didn't pay any attention to Toby. "We just think it is best to put you in a private place. If you will come with me, I can explain your daughter's condition to you."

"Fine." Sam glanced at the others, "Let's go."

The doctor did not say anything until they reached a small room. He looked at Zoey and her agents, CJ, Josh, Toby, and Donna. "You can all wait here for a few minutes."

"No." Everyone was mildly surprised by the force in Sam's voice. "They are coming inside."

"You want them to hear what I have to say?" At Sam's nod, the doctor shrugged.

Zoey's agents stood outside the door. Everyone else stepped inside the small room.

Sam sat on a small sofa, Donna next to him. Dr. Phelps sat across from them. The others all found seats as

close to them as possible.

"Serena developed a high fever which is not unusual for children with her illness. Her nurses were not concerned, they gave her some fever reducer. Her fever just got higher. Finally, the baby stopped breathing. We were able to get her breathing again. We took her for some tests." He paused. "Her leukemia has progressed more than we were aware."

"We have a bone marrow donor now," Sam informed the doctor, his voice filled with hope.

Dr. Phelps looked at Sam sympathetically. "It would be impossible to do the transplant right now. We have to get her stabilized."

"What are you not saying doctor?" Josh asked.

"Serena's fever got too high, she slipped into a coma."

Donna and CJ each took one of Sam's hands. Toby dropped his head into his hands. Zoey gasped. Josh stared at a spot on the wall, directly above the doctor's head.

"What happens now?" Sam asked. His eyes were filled with dread. He was terrified of what the answer might be.

"We will begin radiation immediately. If we can get her blood counts closer to normal we can do the transplant."

"Even if Serena is still in the coma?" Donna asked.

"Yes."

"What if her blood counts don't return to normal?" Josh asked wearily.

"Serena's blood counts aren't going to return to normal. If the blood counts don't get a little bit closer to normal we can't do the transplant."

"And if you can't do the transplant?" Josh pressed.

Dr. Phelps just shook his head.

"How long do you have?" CJ wanted to know.

"I don't know. Not long."

No one spoke. After a few moments the doctor stood. "I'm going to go check on Serena. We will keep you informed."

"Doctor," Sam said, as the doctor was about to leave. Dr. Phelps turned back around. "Could you let Serena's pediatrician know?"

"I already have. You had just left her office when I called her," he answered before leaving.

Everyone was silent. They didn’t know what to say. Josh stood up and walked to the window. Sam stood and started pacing again. CJ stood up, "I'm going to go make some calls." She walked over to Sam and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like me to call your sister and Alana?"

"Um," Sam took a moment to figure out what CJ had asked, "Yes."

"I'll need the phone numbers," CJ prompted.

"I..." Sam said.

Donna stood up. "I have the numbers. I'll go with you CJ."

Zoey stood up as they left. "I'm going to go get some coffee. Does anyone want anything else?"

"Bring Sam something to eat," Josh told her.

"Like what?"

Josh shrugged, "It doesn't matter."

"Okay," Zoey said as she left the room. The agents at the door followed her.

**********

"Do you want to stop here or go outside?" Donna asked. They were walking past a bank of pay phones.

CJ glanced at several people talking on phones. "Let's go outside and use my cell phone. It will be more private."

"Do you think Sam will be okay if..." Donna stared to ask. She had trouble finishing the sentence.

CJ squeezed Donna's hand. "Serena will be all right."

"If she isn't?" Donna whispered.

"If she isn't it will be hard for Sam. But he will be okay. You'll help him, we'll all help him get through this," CJ assured her.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Donna took an address book out of her purse and flipped to the page that had the phone number for Sam’s sister.

"Would you like to call her?" CJ asked.

"Could you call her?" Donna asked. "I've only spoken to her once, on the phone, and I really don't feel like explaining about Serena right now."

CJ started dialing the number in. The other woman answered on the second ring. CJ briefly explained the situation. The woman asked a few questions and then CJ promised to let her know when they had more information.

As soon as CJ hung up the phone, Donna handed her the number for Alana’s hotel. CJ told the woman about Serena.

"When?" Alana asked as soon as CJ stopped talking.

"About two hours ago."

"Two hours? It took Sam two hours to contact me?" Alana was extremely displeased.

"We were all waiting for more information from Serena's doctors," CJ informed her.

"What is Serena's room number?"

CJ frowned. Even if she knew, she wouldn't tell Alana. "I do not know. I don't think that she has been taken to a room yet."

"Where is Sam?" Alana asked. "I would like to talk to him."

"Sam is inside right now. I came outside so that I could use my phone," CJ explained.

"I assume that he is in a waiting room?"

"Yes."

"What floor?"

"Sam is in a private waiting room."

Alana sounded very annoyed. "I’ll ask someone on the main floor to find out for me." She hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked as soon as CJ was off the phone.

CJ sighed. "I think that Alana is going to come down here. She is very upset at Sam."

"Why would Serena's grandmother be upset?" someone asked before Donna could reply. Donna and CJ both spun around to look at the person speaking. A reporter was standing there. Several more were on their way across the parking lot.

"Is it true that Serena's condition has worsened?" someone called out.

"Is Serena expected to make it through the night?" someone else wanted to know.

Donna was even paler than before, CJ noticed with annoyance. How dare they show up here like this and upset her? How did they know so soon?

"I have no information for you at this time," CJ told them all. She turned around and started walking back toward the hospital entrance. Donna was right behind her.

Several cameras were going off as reporters kept yelling questions at them.

"How is Sam taking his daughter's illness?"

"Do you expect Serena to get well?"

"Has a bone marrow donor been found?"

"Do the President and the rest of the Senior Staff know about Serena's condition?"

Several reporters tried to follow them inside. Hospital security met them at the door and kept the press outside.

CJ and Donna stopped at the pay phones to finish making their calls.

Everyone looked up when they entered the room. Zoey gestured to the table in the middle of the room. "I got us all drinks and a snack." A tray sat on the table.

Donna got a Styrofoam cup from the tray and went to sit next to Sam. He was holding a cup and a sandwich. The sandwich did not have any bites in it. "You have to eat Sam," she told him.

While Donna was coaxing Sam to eat, CJ went over to Josh. He was still standing by the window. "How did the calls go?" he asked.

CJ dropped her voice to barely a whisper. She didn’t want Sam to hear her. "Alana is very upset, she said that she is going to come over here." She paused a moment. "There are reporters outside now. They showed up just as I was getting off the phone with Alana."

"Did any of them get inside?" Josh was concerned now.

"No, hospital security stopped them at the door."

"At least a few of them will probably find a way inside. I’m glad we are in a private room."

"I called Leo from a pay phone as soon as we got back inside. He said that he was watching this story on TV. He is sending more agents over immediately," CJ went on.

"Good. Does the President know?"

"Yes. Leo said that he’ll be coming over later this afternoon even though Ron doesn’t want him to. Dr. Bartlet is coming over with the agents," CJ answered.

"Guys?" Toby called out. He had turned the TV on. A reporter was talking as they showed tape of Donna and CJ hurrying inside. A picture of Serena, Sam, and Donna filled the screen.

"Reports that White House Deputy Director of Communications Sam Seaborn’s daughter Serena’s condition has worsened are still unconfirmed. Serena was hospitalized several days ago when she lost consciousness at her second birthday party which was held in the President’s Residence. Serena is suffering from leukemia. Reporter Chris Livingston is outside the hospital, Chris?"

"Thanks Patty. The hospital tells us that there will probably be a press conference later this afternoon. Nearly a half-hour ago CJ Cregg and Donna Moss were outside the hospital making telephone calls. They refused to comment. Ms. Moss looked very agitated and upset. A member of the hospital staff told me that White House Senior Staff members Toby Zeigler and Josh Lyman and First Daughter Zoey Bartlet are also here. The hospital staff member claims that the First Daughter was with Serena when the child lost consciousness."

"Damn," Josh muttered, "Flip channels."

The next channel was worse.

A reporter was standing outside the courthouse. "In court today Mr. Seaborn admitted to being in love with Donna Moss. His confession did not come as a shock to most of the people here today. Many people have been wondering about their relationship for the last few months. If you remember nearly every picture that has been released of Serena Seaborn contained both her father Sam Seaborn and Donna Moss. About a half-hour ago Ms. Moss was seen outside the hospital where Serena is a patient. CJ Cregg was with Ms. Moss. Ms. Moss looked very upset as she and Ms. Cregg hurried inside as soon as they saw the reporters. Their reactions lend credibility to the story that Serena’s condition has deteriorated."

Toby switched channels again. "First Lady Dr. Abigail Bartlet just arrived here at the hospital." A tape of Abbey and several Secret Service Agents came on the screen. "Dr. Bartlet refused to comment on the child’s condition. She did confirm that her daughter Zoey is here with Mr. Seaborn, Ms. Moss, and Ms. Cregg. When asked to confirm whether or not Josh Lyman and Toby Zeigler are here, Dr. Bartlet refused to answer."

"At times like this the attention gets very tiring," Abbey said as she entered the room.

Toby flipped the TV off.

Abbey hugged Sam. "How is Serena?"

"We haven’t heard anything since CJ called you," Sam answered dejectedly.

"The doctor told you that Serena is in a coma? What else did he say?" Abbey pressed.

"She is in a coma and they were about to start radiation. Is she going to die?"

Abbey squeezed his hand. "I don’t know Sam. I really don’t know." She looked over at CJ. "Leo would like you to go back to the White House. He wants you to give a briefing."

CJ gathered her things before walking over to Sam. "I’ll be back as soon as possible," she said as she hugged him.

"Have you eaten?" Abbey asked as she sat down next to Sam.

"Donna made me eat half of a sandwich," Sam answered.

Abbey smiled approvingly at Donna.

They were all silent for a while. Each of them was remembering the happy, lively little girl that they all loved.

Sam held a picture of Serena in his hands. This was one of his favorite pictures. It had not been in any papers. It was just his. The only others to see it were Donna, Josh, and Toby. In the picture, Serena was playing in the hot tub at their house (the heat had not been on). She was splashing wildly and had a look of pure joy on her face. He had taken the picture the two days before Serena was admitted into the hospital. Sam smiled as he remembered that day. God, how he hoped Serena got to play like that again. She loved the water so much.

Josh frowned at the magazine in his hands. He hadn’t been that great with Serena. He had always hoped that he would have a relationship with his assistant. He knew that it sounded awful. He was Donna’s boss. They weren’t supposed to have a romantic relationship but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting it. He had fallen in love with her. Then Sam had gotten Serena and everything had changed. Seeing her with Sam and Serena so much was very difficult for him. From the beginning they had seemed so much like a family. He had been so jealous. Sam had something he didn’t have and that something was going to win him Donna. He had unjustly taken it out on Serena by ignoring her and trying to pretend that she didn’t exist. Serena had not tolerated it though. She had insisted that he pay attention to her. Serena had somehow gotten almost everyone in the White House to fall in love with her.

Toby stood staring out the window. He had never liked children. He hadn’t even thought that it was possible for him to like children. He still didn’t like most children. Serena was the exception. For some reason she was special. It wasn’t because she was Sam’s daughter. It was something indefinable, something that was Serena alone. He could see her cherubic face with her bright blue eyes and beautiful smile. He could almost hear her calling him 'Uncle Toey'. Right now he wouldn’t even correct her if she really could call him that.

Abbey remembered the first day that she’d met little Serena. It had been obvious that Serena was Sam’s daughter. Serena had been so perfect with her fancy pink dress and cute little shoes. Her bright blue eyes had shone brightly as she looked around curiously. Her smile had been bright and brilliant. She had been sweet, calm, and yet precocious. Abbey was still amazed when she thought about how uninhibited children are. Serena had not cared that they were the President and First Lady. To her they were just 'Uncle Jed and Aunt Abbey'.

Donna saw Serena laughing hysterically. Her face was lit with joy. It had been that first day at the zoo. Serena had been watching the monkeys playing in their exhibit. She had wanted to join them. They hadn’t scared her at all. Very little scared Serena. The child was just too filled with joy to let much upset her. Donna had been around small children all of her life, she had always liked children. None of those children had gotten to her like Serena did. She didn’t like Serena, she loved the little girl.

"Mr. Seaborn."

Sam stood up. "Dr. Phelps? How’s Serena?"

"Serena’s fever has gone down. She is starting to show signs that she might awaken from the coma." The doctor gave Sam a brief smile.

"What about her blood count?"

The doctor shook his head. "It hasn’t changed at all."

Sam sighed. "You still can’t do the transplant?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"No."

"When will Serena wake up? Can I go see her now?"

"We have no idea when she will wake up. It could be anytime. You can see her but only for a few minutes.

I’ll take you to her now," Dr. Phelps explained.

***********

"She woke up just a few minutes ago." Donna was talking to Josh on the phone two days later.

"That’s great. Was Sam with her?"

"Yes. We were both with her. I came to make some phone calls while Sam spends some time alone with Serena," Donna explained.

"Do they know when they are going to be able to do the transplant yet?"

"No, her blood count hasn’t changed. It is doubtful that they will be able to do it on Monday though."

"How is Sam?"

"He rested for a few hours last night. I think I’ll be able to get him to leave the hospital tonight, for a few hours."

"That’s good." Josh’s tone changed. "When can you come back to work?"

Donna sighed, "What happened now?"

"Your temporary replacement is awful. I have no idea what I am talking about at meetings." He would never have thought he’d say this. "I miss your index cards."

Donna laughed. She wished she had a tape of this conversation. It could come in handy some time. Her laughter faded. "I’ll try to come in for a few hours tomorrow but I can’t promise you. It depends on how Serena is doing," she warned.

"I understand," Josh assured her. "Just try," he pleaded. "Tell Sam I’ll stop by after work."

"Okay. Can you let the others know for me?"

"Sure. Bye Donna."

"Bye."

Donna headed to the elevator. She stepped into the elevator and then cringed when she realized who was in the elevator with her.

Alana scowled at Donna. "You’re here," she said unnecessarily.

Donna glared.

"How is my granddaughter?" Alana’s voice was filled with ice.

"She just woke up."

"You didn’t call me!" Alana was outraged.

Donna stepped out of the elevator and started walking toward Serena’s room.

Alana followed closely behind her. "She is my granddaughter."

Donna ignored the other woman as she kept walking.

"You have absolutely no rights when it comes to my granddaughter. All you are is her father’s bimbo girlfriend. I’m going to be raising the child. From now on you had better notify me when anything happens with Serena," Alana fumed.

Donna’s face was filled with outrage.

"Alana," Sam said coldly. He was standing in the doorway of Serena’s room.

Alana turned a fake smile Sam’s way. "Your girlfriend was just gloating about how she knew more about Serena’s condition than I do. She says that she is more important in Serena’s life than I am."

"She is more important than you are," Sam informed the woman coldly. "But she didn’t say that to you. She wouldn’t. I heard everything."

"Everything?" Alana feigned innocence.

"Leave."

"No. I came to see my granddaughter and I am going to see her."

Sam shook his head, "No, you are not. You do not have visitation today. I decide if I allow you to see her any extra times. I’ve decided that the answer is no."

Alana’s smile was bitter. "I’ll use this in court."

Sam's smile held no humor. "Go ahead."

Alana stomped away.

Sam’s smile softened. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine but Sam, she’s going to lie. This could go really badly in court. Maybe you should have let her see Serena," Donna told him worriedly.

"After what I heard there was no way I was going to allow her to stay."

"I know she is going to use this."

"Stop worrying." Sam took her hand and led her into Serena’s room.

Dr. Phelps smiled at them both.

"How much did you hear doctor?" Sam asked.

"I heard all of it and yes I’d be willing to testify on your behalf." He glanced down at Serena, who was now sleeping. "That woman should not be allowed to raise a child." He stood to leave.

"Thank you Dr. Phelps," Sam said as the doctor left.

Sam pulled Donna close and kissed her. "See, I told you not to worry. I am not going to lose custody of Serena."

It was several minutes before either of them spoke again. "Let’s go for a walk," Sam suggested.

Donna just nodded.

Sam kissed Serena on the cheek and he and Donna both left.

************

"I am going to try to keep Alana from seeing Serena once I have custody," Sam said as they walked around a small garden outside.

"You’re going to try to get the judge to deny Alana visitation?"

"Yes. She seems so bitter. She cannot stand you and she is not very much better when it comes to me." Sam sighed. "I don’t want my daughter exposed to that kind of animosity."

"The fact that Alana doesn’t like me doesn’t really matter. She is Serena’s grandmother. I’m just your girlfriend."

"Stop listing to Alana," Sam exclaimed. "Nothing she says matters. I want you to be important in Serena’s life. In my life. Forever."

She stopped walking. "What?"

"This isn’t the way I would have wanted to do this but with Serena so sick." Sam smiled, "I want you to be in Serena’s and my lives forever. I want you to marry me."

"Sam."

"Don’t say it. Alana’s opinion doesn’t matter. No one else’s opinions matter."

"But what about the custody battle? I don’t want to cause you to lose Serena." Donna’s voice was soft, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"You won’t," Sam assured her. "You are great with Serena and you adore her. She loves you."

"Are you sure?"

"I’m positive. Nothing Alana says will hurt us. We will win. We are going to have to tell the others."

Donna looked up. "That isn’t going to be easy."

Sam nodded. "I know. I’ll go to the White House today to tell them." He was not looking forward to telling Leo.

"I’ll come with you. I’d like to tell Josh and CJ myself."

"Okay."

They continued to talk for several more minutes.

***********

"Toby do you have a minute?" Sam stood in the doorway of Toby’s office.

Toby did not look up. "What is it Sam? Is Serena worse?"

"No, Serena’s condition hasn’t really changed since she woke up." Sam sat down. "I’m engaged."

Toby looked up to see Sam’s grin. "What did you say?"

"I am engaged," Sam repeated.

"To Donna?"

"No Toby, to Laurie." He laughed at Toby’s shocked look. "Of course to Donna."

"I didn’t know that you two were that serious. You just announced that you were dating a few days ago."

Toby was fiddling with something on his desk. "You love her?"

"Yes Toby."

"Congratulations." He gave Sam one of his rare smiles. "She’ll make a great mother for Serena."

"Yeah, she will, but that isn’t the reason I’m marrying her."

"Of course not. Have you told Leo?"

Sam’s smile faded. "Not yet. You’re the first person I’ve told."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Now." Sam stood up. "I’ll stop by again before I leave. If I survive long enough."

Sam walked as slowly as he could to Leo’s office. Margaret was sitting at her desk. "I need to talk to Leo."

"Go on in. He’s alone."

Sam knocked once before opening the door. "Hey Leo."

Leo looked up. His surprise was evident on his face. "Sam, you didn’t have to come in today. How is Serena?"

"The same. I came in to talk to you about something."

"Sure. Sit down."

Sam sat down. He did not know how to tell Leo. He decided to get it out as quickly as possible. "It’s about Donna and I."

Leo sighed, afraid that he knew what was coming.

"We are going to get married."

"This isn’t just about Serena?"

"No. We love each other," Sam assured him.

"Does anyone else know?"

"I just told Toby."

"You know this is going to be a scandal? People are going to say that you are just getting married to improve your chances of getting custody of Serena. They’ll probably point out that you work together."

"I’m not her boss," Sam protested.

"Thank God for that."

**********

"What did you say?" CJ asked.

"I’m engaged."

"Wow. That is wonderful."

"Yes, it is."

"How did Leo take it?"

"I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Sam yet. I think he is still with Leo." Donna gave CJ a concerned look.

"You don’t think Leo will fire either of us do you?"

CJ shook her head. "Of course not. As long as your relationship doesn’t interfere with your jobs, Leo will be fine. Eventually. He might be upset at first." She smiled, "Have you set a date yet?"

"No, we haven’t had a chance. We’ll probably have to wait until Serena has her transplant and the custody battle is over."

"Do you want to have a big wedding?"

"No, I just want to invite our families and closest friends."

"What about Serena?" CJ asked.

"What about her?" Donna was confused.

"Are you going to adopt her?" CJ asked.

"Sam and I haven’t talked about that. We really haven’t had much time to talk about this yet."

"Do you want to?"

"Yes." She did not hesitate. "I don’t think I could love Serena more if she was my child."

"You are great with her," CJ complimented.

"I try. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with her," Donna confessed, "I’ve never really been around a sick child before."

"Sam hasn’t either. You’re both learning."

 "I hope this is a skill that neither of us ever need again."

"So do I. How is Serena?"

Donna shrugged, "She is fine if you consider what is wrong with her. You can tell that she is very sick but at least she isn’t in a coma anymore."

"How is she when she’s sick? Has she been fussy?"

"Not really. She has been a little more clingy than usual but that’s it. I don’t think she has enough energy to fuss." She smiled, "And she loves all the attention that she has been getting."

CJ grinned. Serena had been getting a lot of attention since she went to the hospital. "She was getting almost as much attention before she went to the hospital. Everyone was just so shocked by the idea of Sam having a child. And since none of us has children it is fun to spoil Serena."

"She loves the Teddy Bear you sent to the hospital."

"I’m glad. I didn’t know what to send her. A nurse told me that she couldn’t have flowers. Is she allowed visitors?"

"Yes, as long as there aren’t too many at one time. All visitors have to wear masks to try to keep germs away from Serena," Donna explained.

"I’ll try to stop by tonight."

"Serena will like that."

"How are things going with Alana? Does she know that you are engaged to Sam?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "She came by the hospital today. She was upset that she wasn’t contacted the second Serena woke up. She didn’t think it was fair that I knew before she did."

"Of course you knew before she did. You have been at the hospital with Sam and Serena the last three days. Alana hasn’t," CJ exclaimed.

"She was saying some pretty mean things. Sam overheard her."

"What did Sam do?" CJ asked curiously.

"Let’s just say that I have rarely seen Sam get that angry. He wouldn’t let Alana see the baby."

"Do you think she’s going to try to use that in court?"

"I was afraid of that too." Donna grinned, "A doctor heard it all. He’ll testify for us."

"What is going on with the custody battle?"

"Sam and his lawyer got the court to postpone it for a few days. Alana agreed."

"When does the hearing start again?" CJ asked.

"Tuesday."

"What if Serena isn’t better?"

"Sam will have to decide if he is going to let his lawyer handle the custody battle and stay with Serena or if he is going to go to court." Donna sighed. "I really hope it doesn’t come to that. The decision would be so hard for him."

Carol peeked into the room. "You have a meeting in ten minutes CJ."

"Thanks," CJ replied.

Donna stood. "I’ll go so you can get ready for your meeting."

"Bye."

*********

"Josh, do you have a minute?"

Josh looked up, clearly surprised. "I thought you couldn’t come back to work until tomorrow."

"I said maybe tomorrow," Donna corrected. "And I’m not here to work. I need to talk to you about something."

"Please don’t tell me you need more time off," Josh moaned.

"I probably will need more time off," Donna admitted. "But that is not what I want to talk about."

"Okay," he said slowly. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Sam."

"Sam? Is he all right?" Josh asked with alarm.

"He’s fine."

"You're worried about what will happen if Serena dies?"

"Serena is not going to die," Donna snapped.

"Then what?"

"You know that I’ve been dating Sam."

"Yes."

"It has been getting pretty serious."

"So?"

"So, Sam proposed to me today."

"What?" He could not believe what he was hearing.

"I said..."

"I heard what you said. What did you mean?" he asked stupidly.

"What did I mean? What does someone usually mean when they say that someone proposed to them? I am engaged."

"You said yes," he repeated softly.

She softened her voice. "Yes I did."

"You haven’t been dating that long. This is too soon," Josh protested.

"No it isn't. Sam and I are in love."

He sighed. "When are you getting married?"

"We haven’t set a date."

"Oh." He was secretly pleased. They hadn’t thought much about it. Maybe there was hope for him.

"Donna?" Sam stepped into the room.

"How did it go with Leo?"

"It went well. He actually congratulated me." Sam smiled.

"Toby?"

"Better than Leo. What did CJ say?"

"CJ is very happy for us."

Sam looked at Josh. "How about you? What do you think?"

"I’m happy for you," Josh lied softly.

"Great." Sam’s grin broadened. He turned to Donna. "We should get back to the hospital. Serena’s probably awake."

"Bye Josh," they both called.

He didn’t answer them.


	4. Unexpected Changes 4

**Unexpected Changes**

**by:** Catgurl83

**Character(s):** Sam, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/Donna  
**Rating:** YTEEN, just to be on the safe side.  
**Disclaimer:** Characters that you recognize aren't mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made on this fic.  
**Summary:** Sam's life is about to change unexpectedly. Sam/Donna  
**Spoiler:** I can't think of any specifically  
 **Feedback:** Would be greatly appreciated.  
**Author's Note:**

* * *

 "Okay, Mr. Zeigler."

"Toby," he corrected.

"Fine, Toby. I just need you to sign this."

Toby signed the paper.

"And this."

He signed that too as she handed him another form. "How many things do I have to sign?"

She smiled. "That was it. Come with me." She led him down a long hall and into a small room. "Put this on," she said, handing him a hospital gown.

About a half-hour later, a nurse came into the room. "Okay, we’ll take you in now." Two orderlies were right behind her.

"How long will this take?"

"Not long. You’ll even be able to go home in a few hours."

They took him to the room where the procedure would take place and he was given a shot. That was the last thing he remembered.

********

"Hey Toby."

"CJ? What?"

"You're in the hospital. You donated bone marrow remember?" CJ prompted.

Toby thought a moment. "How is Serena?"

CJ hesitated. "I’m not sure. I haven’t seen Sam or Donna since the transplant started." Toby’s bone marrow was being given to Serena through her IV. She would sleep through the whole procedure.

"How long has it been?"

"A couple of hours. Someone will come talk to me soon," CJ assured him. She didn’t want him to know that she was getting worried. It shouldn’t have taken more than an hour for Serena to be given the bone marrow.

"Okay." Toby closed his eyes. "Let me know."

As soon as Toby fell asleep, CJ stepped out into the hall.

"Excuse me. Can you check on a patient for me?" she asked someone at the nurse’s station.

"Name?"

"Serena Farrel." Serena’s name had not been legally changed yet, although news articles called her Serena Seaborn.

The nurse frowned as she punched in the name. "Are you a family member?"

"No, I’m not."

"I’m sorry but I can’t give you any information."

"Do you know where I could find Serena’s father?" CJ asked hopefully.

"No, I don’t. You might check Serena’s room," she suggested.

CJ thanked her and walked away. She walked down several hallways to Serena’s room. She was on the same floor as Toby. This hospital didn’t have a children’s unit.

The blinds on Serena’s window were drawn. She knew that she couldn’t even open the door without a mask on.

She went to the nurse’s station closest to Serena’s room. "I’d like to see a patient but I need a mask."

The man behind the desk didn’t look up. "Patient’s name?"

"Serena Farrel."

He typed the name into the computer. "The patient cannot have visitors at this time."

"Is she still in this wing?"

"As far as I know, Miss Farrel is still a patient on this ward," he answered. He still hadn’t looked up.

"I know that Serena had a procedure done today. Could you tell me how she is?"

"Are you a relative?"

CJ sighed. "Yes, I am."

"Your name?"

"CJ Cregg."

"How are you related to the patient?"

"Look, I am in a hurry. Could you just give me the information? Sam won’t mind."

"Sam?"

"Serena’s father." CJ was getting very impatient.

"I am just following the rules Ms. Cregg. How are you related to the patient?"

"I’m not," CJ admitted. "I am friends with her father. My best friend just gave the bone marrow for Serena’s transplant."

He finally looked up. "You work at the White House don’t you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Look, I am not supposed to give out this information. There were some complications," he said slowly.

"What kind of complications?"

"I can’t say anymore." His voice was apologetic. 

"Thank you very much."

CJ went back to the waiting room they had used a week and a half before. When she had arrived this morning, she had been told to go there if she needed a waiting room. Reporters were outside again.

The room was empty. She had been hoping that someone would be in here. The nanny, Sam’s sister Patty, Alana, and Donna were all here at the hospital with Sam. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in speed dial number four. Number one was Toby’s office, two was her father’s house, and three was Toby’s house.

Josh answered the phone in his office.

"This is CJ."

"How are Serena and Toby?" he asked with concern.

"Toby is fine. Has anyone else called you?"

"You mean from the hospital? No. Is something wrong? You didn’t tell me how Serena is." He sounded very concerned now.

"I don’t know. Something is going on. The transplant should have ended a few hours ago." She paused a moment. "I can’t find Donna or Sam. The nurses won’t tell me anything. I finally got someone to admit that there was some kind of complication."

"You don’t know what happened?"

"No, he wouldn’t tell me. I just thought that Donna might have called you." She sighed.

Josh glanced at his watch. "I have another meeting. I’ll be over there as soon as it finishes. If someone calls me, I’ll tell them that you are concerned. They can find you in Toby’s room, right?"

"Yes. Thanks."

She stopped in the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee on her way to Toby’s room. She got the coffee and a bagel before noticing the young woman sitting at a table in the corner. "Hey Amy," she said as she joined the young nanny.

"Hi CJ." Amy was picking at a roll.

"How is Serena?"

"I don’t know. I went to the restroom and when I got back, Serena had been moved. No one will tell me anything." The girl had a concerned expression on her face when she met CJ’s eyes. "Have you heard anything?"

"Not really. Someone told me that there were complications. I have no idea what type." She finished her bagel. "I’m going to go up to Toby’s room. Come with me. If Donna or Sam calls the White House they’ll be told to come to Toby’s room," she explained.

Amy stood up. "Okay."

**********

"I can't stand these sitcoms. Could their jokes be any stupider?"

"This is one of the highest rated shows on TV," CJ pointed out.

"Maybe that is what is wrong with today’s youth. They are watching television programs like this." Toby flipped to another station.

"The female praying mantes bites the head off of her male partner after mating." Toby turned the channel again, a disgusted expression on his face.

"An unnamed hospital employee told me minutes ago, that Serena Seaborn died of complications from her bone marrow transplant earlier today." A young female reporter said. She was standing outside the hospital.

Amy, who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room reading a magazine, gasped.

CJ covered her mouth with her hand.

"What the hell?" Toby flipped to another news channel. The news anchor was briefly detailing Serena’s life with Sam. A picture of the baby came on the screen as the anchor talked about the unconfirmed rumor of the child’s death. The White House had yet to comment.

"What's going on?" Josh demanded from the doorway. He looked from Amy to CJ. Tears were streaming down Amy’s face. CJ was not crying but she was very pale. He looked at Toby. "What’s going on?" he repeated.

Toby's only response was to turn the TV up.

A reporter in front of the hospital was talking about Serena’s death.

"When did this happen?" Josh demanded. "Where’s Sam?" He turned toward the door.

"Wait Josh. We don’t know that they are correct. They keep saying unconfirmed report. We haven’t been able to find Sam," CJ told him.

"I’ll call Leo."

Josh found an empty waiting room and called Leo. Leo had just heard the news. Josh assured him that they didn’t know if it was true or not and that he’d call as soon as he knew anything.

After he got off the phone, he went to the nurse’s station. "I need information about Serena Farrel."

The woman behind the desk looked weary. "I cannot give out any information on that patient."

"I really need to know about Serena’s condition," Josh insisted.

"I can’t give the information out." The phone rang. She sighed before answering it. "No, I can't tell you anything about little Serena’s condition." She hung the phone up and looked back at Josh. "We have been getting those calls for an hour now. You’re the first one to get up here though."

"I’m not a reporter."

"Really?" She looked skeptical.

"I work at the White House with Serena’s father Sam Seaborn," he told her.

Again, she looked skeptical.

Josh pulled out his ID. "I’m Joshua Lyman. I'm Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House. I’d really like some information on Sam Seaborn’s daughter’s condition."

She glanced at his ID. "I’m going to call my boss. She can decide if she's going to tell you anything." She picked up the phone.

A few minutes later an older woman appeared. She held out her hand. "I’m Margaret Stellor." 

"I'm Joshua Lyman White House Deputy Chief of Staff." He shook her hand. "I need information about an employee’s daughter."

"You want me to tell you about Serena Farrel. I’m really not sure I should."

"I am sure you realize that I am not just an average boss. No one who works at the White House has a normal boss / employee relationship. Sam is my best friend." He could see that the woman was wavering.

"I know that you have heard the rumors that the reporters outside are telling on national TV. The White House is going to need to make a statement. We need to know what is going on in order to know how to handle this." He paused to study her face. "Another member of the Senior Staff actually gave the bone marrow for Serena’s transplant. He is very worried."

"I’m sorry but I can’t release the information right now. I will however, tell you where to find your friends." She directed him to a private waiting room.

Josh nearly ran down the hall to the elevator. The elevator was on a different floor so he ran down a flight of stairs. A few minutes later he stepped into a waiting room. It was smaller than the one they were in several days before. There were six chairs and a small table. Magazines lay in a rack hanging on the door. A TV was suspended from a shelf near the ceiling, in the corner of the room. His attention was caught by the figure standing near the window. He walked closer and laid his hand on their shoulder. "How is she?"

"Have you been watching the news?"

Josh sighed. "Yeah, I have. I need you to tell me what’s going on."

"They are saying she died, aren’t they?"

"Yes," Josh admitted. "CJ, Toby, and Amy are very concerned."

Donna turned around. "We're all concerned. This is killing Sam."

"Killing Sam?" Josh’s tone was filled with shock. It was true. "Where is he?"

"Sam and his sister went to pray. They should be back soon."

"And Alana?"

Donna’s voice was very cold. "She went back to the hotel."

"When?"

"She went to the hotel several hours ago." Donna was confused. Why did he care about Alana?

"Not Alana. Serena. When?"

 "She seemed to be fine. We were all watching the transplant through the window. Toby’s marrow was dripping into Serena slowly. She was going to be fine." Her voice broke. "But then... then the monitors started to go off. A nurse closed the blinds. So many doctors went into the room."

He pulled her into his arms. "What happened?"

"I... they told us later that for some reason she started rejecting the transplanted marrow. Usually that doesn’t happen until later. I guess that this is just more proof that Serena is different, special." She tried to smile. "They brought us here after they moved her." She looked up at him, "Why did something like this have to happen to her?"

He kissed her forehead. "I don’t know. I just don’t know." He thought about his sister’s death years before. He had wondered the same thing then. "How is Sam?"

"He is as good as you can expect. He has been praying all afternoon. He doesn’t know about the reporters yet. CJ’s going to have to comment isn’t she?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Josh." Sam stepped into the room.

 Josh put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. "I’m sorry about Serena."

Sam nodded. "This is my sister Patricia." He gestured to the woman standing next to him. She looked a lot like Sam. Her long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a light blue blouse.

She held out her hand. "You can call me Patty."

"Nice to meet you Patty." He pulled his cell phone out. "I’m going to call Toby’s room." After answering a few questions, he gave CJ directions to the waiting room. He closed the cell phone. "CJ is going to be here in a few minutes. Amy is going to stay with Toby."

Sam sat down. "You should call Leo," he told Josh.

"Yes. What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him that Serena rejected the transplant. Tell him that we don’t know very much yet. And tell him to please pray. We all need to pray." 

Josh blinked a few times. He had never known Sam to be this religious.

"She has to be okay," Sam said.

"She. Has. To. Be. Okay?" Josh turned his startled look toward Donna.

"Last time we talked to the doctors she wasn’t doing well but at least she’s still alive," Sam went on.

"She is?"

Donna looked very confused. "You thought...?"

"Yeah." Josh ran his hand through his hair. "You didn’t correct me so I thought it was true. I’m going to call Leo." He walked over to the door and lowered his voice.

"What’s up?" CJ asked as she burst into the room.

"We don’t know," Sam answered, "I haven’t talked to a doctor in almost an hour."

CJ met Josh’s eyes and he nodded, silently telling her that Serena was still alive. He turned his attention back to the phone.

When Josh got off the phone, CJ was sitting next to Sam. Donna was still by the window. Patty had gone to get sandwiches. "CJ, Leo wants you back at work."

She stood. "I knew he would. I’ll stop by later." She met Josh’s eyes. "Keep me informed."

"Yeah."

Right after CJ left Serena’s pediatrician walked in with Dr. Phelps. "We have Serena stabilized for now. Unfortunately she is developing an infection."

"How are you treating it?" Sam asked.

"We have her on antibiotics."

"Has she regained consciousness?" Donna asked.

Both doctors shook their heads.

"Is she going to make it?" Sam asked bluntly.

Dr. Phelps hesitated. "We really cannot say Mr. Seaborn. She is in very serious condition. The next few days are going to be very difficult for her."

"Serena is a fighter Sam," Josh said as soon as the doctors were gone. "She is very strong."

Patty came in carrying a tray. "I saw the doctors leaving. How is Serena?"

They repeated what the doctors had told them, while Patty handed the food out. She had brought sodas,

sandwiches, and chips for each of them. 

**********

CJ led Zoey down the long hallway to the waiting room. The two women stepped inside to complete quiet. Exhaustion had claimed the people in the room. Sam was on the sofa, his head flung back against the back cushions. Donna’s head lay on Sam’s shoulder. Josh was in the chair across from them, his feet propped up on the small coffee table. Patty dozed in another chair. At some point Amy had joined them all and was sleeping in a chair with her legs curled under her.

"What time is it?" Zoey whispered.

CJ glanced down at her watch. "A little past ten-thirty."

"Should we wake them?"

"It would be fun. I wonder how long they’ve been asleep."

"Not long."

Both women jumped. CJ turned to stare at the nurse standing in the doorway.

The nurse smiled. "Sorry I startled you. They were asleep about a half-hour ago when I came in. The doctor was here an hour ago and they weren’t sleeping yet."

CJ nodded before turning to Zoey. "Do you want to wake them?" She looked back at the nurse, "I assume you need to talk to Sam?"

"Yes, I do."

Zoey walked over and tapped Josh on the shoulder. He didn’t respond. She tapped him again, a little harder this time. He still didn’t respond. "Josh wake up." He didn’t wake up. She looked up at CJ, "What should I do?"

CJ grinned, "Let me." She picked up a bottle of water from the table and unscrewed the lid.

The nurse stood just barely inside the room. Her mouth hung open.

CJ leaned down close to Josh and poured some water into her hand. She splashed the water into his face.

"Whhh... Wh... What?" Josh sputtered as his eyes flew open.

Zoey put her hand over her mouth to keep the laughter back.

"I didn’t know how else to wake you," CJ said innocently.

Josh glared at her. "You are going to pay for this."

"Careful, there are witnesses," CJ admonished as she gestured to the shocked nurse.

Josh grumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"Let me wake Sam up," Zoey said, her voice was filled with glee.

"No." Josh’s voice brooked no argument. "Sam has been through enough. I’ll wake him." He walked over to his friend. "Sam? Wake up buddy." He shook Sam gently.

"What?" Sam asked groggily.

"The nurse wants to talk to you," CJ told him.

Sam took Donna’s hand. "Wake up," he said softly.

Donna was instantly alert. "Is it about Serena?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want us to wake Patty and Amy up?" Zoey asked helpfully.

Josh shot both her and CJ dirty looks.

"No, let them sleep," Sam answered.

The nurse was staring at them all bemusedly.

"You needed to talk to me?" It was apparent to Sam that the nurse was slightly intimidated.

"Um, yes. Dr. Phelps told me to tell you that your daughter can have visitors now." She glanced concernedly at the others in the room. "You may go in two at a time every fifteen minutes. You may stay for five minutes. You must wear a gown, gloves, and a mask. Do not touch her," she warned.

"Does she think we purposely carry germs in our pockets just to make Serena sick?" Josh asked as soon as the nurse had gone.

"Did you see how she kept looking at each of us? I think she was looking at us like we are all crazy or something," Zoey told them.

Josh gave her a look. "You have to admit that you and CJ were behaving childishly."

"I was just trying to lighten the mood a little," CJ defended.

Sam was looking quite confused. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he stood up. "I am going to go see my daughter. Who is going in with me?"

Everyone including Sam looked at Donna.

"I’d like to go if that is alright with the others," Donna said.

Everyone nodded.

"We could wake Amy up," CJ suggested after Donna and Sam had left.

"CJ," Josh said in a warning tone.

"Okay, fine." She sounded like a sulking child.

"How is Toby doing?" Josh asked.

"We stopped by his room before we came here. He was arguing with a nurse," CJ told him.

"What were they arguing about?" Josh asked curiously.

"She was trying to convince him that it was time for patients to sleep," CJ answered.

"He told her that it was time for all pediatrics patients to sleep and that he was definitely not a child," Zoey said. "After several minutes the nurse was getting quite impatient. She told CJ to talk Toby into behaving before she sedated him."

"I got the impression that he had been giving her problems all afternoon and evening," CJ added.

"Did he go to sleep?" Josh asked.

"No," CJ admitted. "He did promise to behave himself though."

"How did you get him to do that?"

CJ grinned, "I threatened to tell Dr. Bartlet that he was not exhibiting proper hospital behavior and ask her to give him a lecture on it."

Josh laughed. It was funny how all of them were scared of Dr. Bartlet. Even Leo was scared of her.

"What’s going on?" Patty asked as she sat up. "Where is my brother?"

"Sam and Donna went to see Serena," CJ answered.

"Is she doing better?"

"I really don’t know. The nurse didn’t say." She looked at Josh, "What did the doctor say the last time he came in here?"

"Basically, that she was stable but she isn’t out of the woods yet. She is still in very serious condition," he answered.

"So he hasn’t been back since I fell asleep," Patty said rhetorically.

 Sam and Donna stepped back into the room. "She looks so small and pale on that bed." Sam was saying.

"Do you think she looks worse than she did?" he asked Donna.

She hesitated. "Yes," she finally admitted.

"Was she awake?" Patty asked.

"No," Sam answered.

"Is she going to have to have another transplant?" Zoey asked curiously. "I mean they said that she rejected Toby’s, right?"

"Dr. Phelps said that she shouldn’t have to have another transplant. They think they got her body to accept Toby’s marrow. If the leukemia recurs she will have to have another transplant," Sam answered.

"Did you convince the reporters that Serena is still alive?" Josh asked CJ.

"They thought Serena was dead?" Sam asked, shocked.

"Yes," Donna admitted giving Josh a dirty look, "It was on the news."

Sam looked at CJ. "You told them the truth?"

"Yes, I think I convinced them that Serena is alive. I had to admit that there were complications during the procedure though."

"Did they ask what kind of complications?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, I told them that I am not a doctor. They need to ask Serena’s doctors during the press conference tomorrow."

"They’re having a press conference tomorrow?" Sam asked.

Donna, Josh, and CJ nodded.

"A reporter mentioned that he saw Alana leave early this afternoon," CJ went on. "He wanted to know the reason. He also wanted to know how you and Alana are getting along. I told him that I haven’t spoken to her today and can't answer questions on her motive for doing things."

"What did you say about how Alana and Sam are getting along?" Patty asked.

"I asked them how they thought two people in the middle of a custody disagreement were getting along. I then added that Alana and Sam agree that Serena and her health are the most important things right now."

"Was that it?" Sam asked hopefully.

"They wanted to know about your relationship with Donna. I said that at this time your primary concern is your daughter."

Sam nodded as he glanced at the clock. "It's time for Serena to have two more visitors." He looked at his sister. "Patty would you like to go?" As Patty nodded, Sam looked at Josh and then CJ. "One of you can go with her," he offered.

Josh and CJ looked at each other. "You can go," Josh told CJ.

The two women left the room.

The rest of the evening passed the same way.

*********

"How did it go?" Josh asked when Sam walked into the room. Josh had stayed at the hospital with Serena while Sam went to court. It had been several days since Serena’s transplant. Serena’s infection was getting better. Her visitors still had to wear masks and gowns.

Sam sighed, "Pretty much the same. Serena’s former pediatrician testified today. He feels that Serena shouldn’t have been moved to DC. He said we put her in danger."

"How much longer do you think that this is going to go on?" Josh asked.

"Tomorrow it is our sides turn. Our testimonies will probably take about two days."

"Who is testifying?" Josh asked curiously.

"Donna and I are both taking the stand again, Serena’s pediatrician and Dr. Phelps. The social worker is testifying first thing tomorrow. Amy is testifying. We have a psychologist that met with Serena. The old lady that lives next door to me has babysat Serena, she’s going to testify. Toby is testifying tomorrow.  You are on for the next day." Sam quickly went down the list.

"ME?"

"You don’t remember? I asked you weeks ago. You said you would."

"Why me? I’m not a child psychologist or a doctor. I’ve never babysat Serena," Josh protested.

Sam looked pointedly at the hospital bed behind Josh.

"This is different," Josh protested, "I’m not babysitting. The nurses are actually taking care of her. I’m just here to make sure they do their jobs."

Sam smirked. "Uh huh. You’re my best friend and Serena’s Godfather. I need you as a character witness."

Josh sighed, "Fine, I’ll be there. Why is Toby testifying?"

"I needed another character witness and since Toby saved Serena’s life by giving her some of his bone marrow, my lawyer and I both thought that his thoughts on Serena’s custody would be good. Very credible, with emotional appeal," Sam explained.

"Is that more for the Judge or the press?" Josh wondered out loud.

"The press," Sam admitted.

"Where is Donna?" Josh noticed for the first time that Donna was not with Sam.

"She went to her apartment to get some things." He looked away from his best friend’s gaze. "She has been staying with me."

"Oh." He didn’t know what else to say.

"I, um, I wanted to talk to you," Sam began. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?"

"I mean with the wedding. I always thought you had a thing for her. That’s why I waited so long to make a move," Sam explained.

"Yeah. I can’t always get what I want, can I?" He picked at Serena’s sheets nervously, while staring at the floor.

"Look..."

Josh interrupted him. "Sam, it’s fine. You won, I lost. It’s fine."

"But you didn’t even try. It wasn’t a contest. Are you really fine with it?"

Josh sighed. "I said so didn’t I? She loves you. I want her to be happy."

Sam smiled. "So do I." He studied his friend’s face before going on. "We’ve been discussing the wedding, now that Serena’s going to be okay. We want to get married at the end of next month. I’d like you to be my best man."

Josh looked up. Surprise was etched on his face. "Me?"

Sam laughed. "Who else? You’re my best friend. You’re my daughter’s Godfather. There is no one else I’d rather have stand up for me."

"Does Donna know?"

"Yes. She agrees with me."

"I’ll do it," Josh finally agreed. "Who else is in the wedding party?"

"CJ is going to be maid of honor. Zoey is going to be a bridesmaid along with my sister Patty. Toby and Charlie are going to be my groomsmen. Serena is going to be flower girl."

"That sounds great Sam." Josh didn’t sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "We are keeping it pretty small. We just want our closest friends and family there."

"How small?"

"The wedding party and about forty others."

"Hey guys," Donna said as she came into the room. She walked over to the bed. Serena was sleeping peacefully. She looked up at Sam. "Amy was at the house. She said that she is going to be at the hearing tomorrow? Who is going to be here?"

"Amy will only be at the hearing for a few hours, she’ll come here after she testifies. Patty is going to stay with Serena until Amy can get here," he explained.

She nodded. "I’m glad Patty is going to be here. It will give me a chance to talk to her. Did you...?" She glanced from Sam to Josh.

Sam nodded. "Yes, just a few minutes ago. He agreed."

Donna stepped over to hug her boss. "Thank you. This means so much to both of us."

"It does," Sam agreed.

"Daddy," Serena said as she woke up.

Sam moved closer to the bed.

"Want drink."

Sam quickly searched the table next to the bed for Serena’s water. It took him several seconds because the table was littered with some of the gifts Serena had received. Since being in the hospital, Serena had received more toys and flowers than she could possibly need. Donna had taken all of the flowers to the geriatrics floor. The toys and stuffed animals that hadn’t been taken to the house were strewn all over the hospital room.

Serena took a sip of water. She looked up. "Aunt CJ."

Sam looked up, startled. The TV in the corner of the room was on, muted. CJ was in the middle of a press briefing.

Josh moved to turn the volume on the television up.

Serena clapped every time CJ spoke.

CJ had finished briefing on the issues. Several reporters asked questions. Finally, she called on Danny.

"Alana Farrel was on the Today Show this morning. She said that there was no chance that Sam Seaborn would win custody of little Serena. She claimed that she had evidence that his moral character is flawed. What moral flaws was she talking about?" Danny asked.

 "Damn it."   

Sam turned shocked eyes on his daughter. "What?"

"Damn it," Serena repeated cheerfully.

Josh was still staring at the TV. He was cursing softly.

Sam and Donna both glared at Josh. "What did you teach my daughter?" Sam asked.

"Huh?"

"Serena what did you say?" Donna asked.

Serena repeated her new phrase again.

Josh looked away. "What?"

"What? You taught her to curse," Sam accused.

"Did not," Josh defended. "She must have heard me when I thought she was asleep."

"Shh. Later." Donna was watching the TV again.

"First, I could not begin to guess at the meaning of anything Alana Farrel says. You would have to ask her what she meant. Second, the White House does not comment on the personal lives of the staff."

"CJ." Several others called out but she was already closing the briefing.

"What did Alana say?" asked Donna. She had not seen the interview.

"You do not want to know," Sam informed her.

"I didn’t see it either. What did she say?" Josh asked.

"I didn’t see it but CJ and my lawyer both told me about it," Sam told them. "Alana said that I am not an appropriate parent for a young child. She claimed she had proof that my moral character is lacking. She also said that I have told her repeatedly that once I have custody of Serena I am going to cut her out of Serena’s life completely." He looked at Donna. "She said that Donna has been taunting her with the fact that she has more of a relationship with Serena than Alana does. She implied that our relationship is nothing more than an affair and that Donna is living with me. She said that we are corrupting Serena."

"They actually let her spew those lies on a reputable morning show? You are going to have to do some damage control, fast," Josh said.

"My lawyer and I already talked about that. I am going to go on TV again." He looked at Donna, "I want you to go with me. We need to announce our engagement."

She looked startled. "Can’t you do it?"

"It will be better if you are there too."

"What shows?" Josh asked.

"I already made arrangements to go on Regis and Kelly in a couple of days. We are hoping to do a night time show too," Sam answered.

*************

"We’re back with our interview with White House Deputy Communications Director Samuel Seaborn and Donna Moss. Ms. Moss is the assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman." The screen changed. They were now showing Stone Phillips, Donna, and Sam. The interview had been recorded earlier.

"How is your daughter doing?" Stone asked.

Sam described Serena’s health.

"Is you daughter happy living with you?"

"She is very happy," Sam answered as a home video started to play. The video was of Serena’s birthday party. President Bartlet was holding Serena while she ate birthday cake. Serena giggled about something the President said to her. The video switched. Now Serena was on Donna’s lap opening her presents. Suddenly she got frightened and started screaming. Sam took the child and started talking soothingly to her.

Stone chuckled as the video switched off. "Does she like the doll now?"

"No," Sam answered with a smile. "We showed it to her again in the hospital. She told us to get it away. She says that the dolly is mean."

"She seems to be very close to President Bartlet," he observed.

"They are very close. Serena calls him 'Unca Jed'."

"Serena had to be taken to the hospital that night didn't she?"

"Yes. She collapsed while playing with Zoey Bartlet," Sam answered.

They talked about that horrible night and Serena's christening. They talked about the bone marrow transplant.

"When we come back we'll discuss the custody battle," Stone said as they went to commercial.

"The video was a nice touch," CJ said. CJ, Toby, Josh, and Amy were sitting in Sam’s living room with Sam and Donna to watch the interview.

"Do you talk during the interview?" Amy asked Donna curiously.

"In the next segment," Donna answered as the program came back on.

"Serena's grandmother, Alana Farrel, is fighting you for custody of the child. How is the hearing going?" Stone asked.

"We finished testimony today. The Judge should have a decision for us tomorrow," Sam answered.  

Stone turned to Donna. "On the first day of the hearing Sam said that he loved you. Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known each other?"

"About six years. We met during the Bartlet for America campaign," she explained.

"How close are you? Alana accused you of living together in an interview earlier this week."

"We aren’t living together," Donna answered as Sam took her hand.

"Actually we are engaged," Sam added.

"You're engaged?" asked an obviously surprised Stone Phillips.

"We have been engaged for a few weeks now. We didn't want to announce it until Serena was better," Donna told him.

"Did you tell your boss?" Stone asked. He was still confused.

Sam chuckled. "You mean the President? Yes, we told President Bartlet and the Senior Staff the day I proposed. They are all very happy for us."

"Have you set a wedding date yet?"

"We are getting married next month," Donna said with a smile. "It is going to be a small, private ceremony. Only our family and closest friends will be in attendance."

"Will Serena be at the wedding?"

"Of course. Serena is going to be flower girl," Sam answered.

"Donna, how do you feel about the custody battle? Do you want to help raise Serena?" Stone asked.

"I love Serena. I want Sam to have custody of her. I love the idea of helping raise Serena. She is a wonderful child," Donna said sincerely.

"Do you plan on having children of your own?"

"We haven't really discussed it but I always planned on having children," she answered.

"Do you think you can love Serena as much as you love your own children?"

"I already love her as if she was my own. I’ve loved her since I met her. How could I not? She is Sam’s child," she said fiercely.

"Does Serena know that you are engaged?"

"Yes. We told her a few days ago," Sam answered. "She was very happy."

"Are you going to adopt Serena?" Stone asked Donna.

"I would love to but we have to get custody first." Donna laughed slightly.

Stone went to commercial again.

"You didn’t tell him about the engagement ahead of time?" Josh asked.

Sam shook his head.

"I think it was better this way. Stone’s expression was wonderful," CJ stated. She looked at Donna. "You sounded like a mother tiger already. That should get some public opinion on your side."

"Do you badmouth Alana at all in the interview?" Toby asked.

"No, we didn’t want to act like bad mannered children just because she did," Donna told him.

"I guess that was smart," Toby admitted grudgingly.

The last part of the interview came on. They discussed Sam's job and how that would affect his parenting. Sam told Stone about Amy. He also said that he had already made arrangements to work fewer hours.

"That was good," Amy said when the show had ended.

"You were both very good," CJ complimented.

"I agree."

Everyone looked at Toby in shock. He stood up. "I'm going to go now."

Everyone else left pretty soon after that.

**********

"Donna!"

"Yes Josh?" She appeared in his doorway seconds later.

"I need the file for my meeting with Senator Smith."

She handed him the file. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop yelling for me?"

"If you would come faster when I called you maybe I wouldn’t have to yell," Josh responded as he flipped the file open.

"Donna!"

"Great, now you have Sam yelling for me," Donna groaned. "You're a bad role model."

Josh smirked, "I try."

Sam ran into the office.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked when she saw the expression on Sam's face.

"I have to go to court. The Judge has decided."

"What? What did he decided?" Donna asked frantically.

"I don't know yet."

"I’m going with you." She turned to Josh.

"Go," he sighed, "Sam needs you there. But come back as soon as you're done."

 She left the room without another word.

 **********

The Judge entered the courtroom and everyone stood. As they sat back down Donna and Sam clasped hands. The moment of truth was nearly here.

"This was a very unique case. I have never had such a difficult time making a custody decision. I have thought long and hard about this case and I feel that I have come to the correct conclusion." He glanced at Alana and then at Sam. "It is obvious that both parties love the child very much. The social worker was impressed with both parties." He looked at Alana again. "Mrs. Farrel, I commend you for taking responsibility for your granddaughter. You provided excellent care for Serena. It is difficult to lose a child, to immediately take charge of the grandchild that looks so much like her mother takes courage and strength. I believe that Serena needs you."

Sam's grip on Donna's hand tightened. They were both very pale as they listened to his words. He could not be doing this. Sam's lawyer was staring at the Judge as if he had grown a second head.

Alana was smiling broadly as she listened to the Judge. This was it. She had one. Serena was hers.

The reporters in the room were scribbling madly on pads of paper. The Judge had not allowed cameras in the courtroom.

The Judge turned his attention to Sam. "You took immediate responsibility for your child as soon as you knew that she existed. The world would be a better place if more men did that. I am glad that you got to know your daughter although I am sorry that it had to be under these circumstances. According to the social worker, you are a natural with Serena. I also commend you on your choice of girlfriend. Ms. Moss is very good for both you and Serena." He paused for a moment. "I feel that Serena needs both Mrs. Farrel and Mr. Seaborn."

Confused faces filled the courtroom. What was he getting at? Was he going to order joint custody? The reporters stopped writing to stare at the Judge curiously. This was getting good. Their readers and viewers were going to love this.

Sam stared at the Judge anxiously. In all of his years practicing law, he never saw something like this. Of course, he hadn't practiced family law. It was possible that this was par for course. That this type of thing happened all the time. That didn't make it easier. It was his daughter's life hanging in the balance here.

Donna glanced at Sam. He seemed as perplexed as she was. Was Sam going to get custody or not?

Even the lawyers were bewildered. This Judge was known for being different but they had never seen him this unpredictable. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"Legal custody of Serena Farrel goes to Samuel Seaborn. Mr. Seaborn will make decisions regarding schools attended, medical care, and where the child will live among other things. However, I do not feel the same way about physical custody."

Sam paled. He was not about to give physical custody to Alana. He could not do that to him. He would appeal. He would fight this as long as he had to. He would raise his daughter.

Alana grinned as the Judge started to speak again. All eyes were on the Judge. This was definitely going to be the top news story tonight.

************

"Sam, Donna." Cathy caught up to them as they entered the West Wing a few hours after they left. "You are supposed to go to the Oval Office immediately."

Neither responded as they walked to the President's office. They both knew what he wanted. When Charlie saw them, he wordlessly stood and walked to the door. He stepped inside for a moment before ushering them inside.

"Mr. President," Sam said as they entered the room. He blinked when he noticed that Josh, Leo, CJ, and Toby were all in the room. Charlie stepped into the room behind them and shut the door.

"Don't keep us in suspense. What happened?" President Bartlet asked impatiently.

"You don't already know?" Donna was incredulous. "There were reporters all over the place."

"CJ had a few hours before the next briefing. We decided to wait and let you tell us yourselves," Leo explained to them.

The President glared at his friend. "You decided?" he asked indignantly before turning to Sam, "I ordered them not to watch the news."

CJ was the first to notice how quiet her friends were. Donna was even paler than usual and Sam didn't look very good. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

The men stared at her. "What? We don't even know what happened yet."

"Josh, look at them. What do you think happened?"

"Oh." Josh studied his two closest friends.

"You are going to appeal immediately," President Bartlet informed them.

"You aren't even going to let us tell you what happened?" Sam asked.

The President studied Sam's face. "Come sit down and tell us what happened."

"I have full legal custody."

"Okay. That's good," Josh pointed out in confusion.

"What about physical custody?" Toby asked quietly.

Sam and Donna looked at each other. Donna realized that Sam wanted her to answer. "The Judge gave primary physical custody to Sam." She paused while the others reacted to the news.

"That's wonderful Sam." This was from CJ.

Josh patted his friend on the back. "Congratulations."

"That's great man," Charlie said.

 "Wait," Toby said, "There's more?" The question was directed at Donna.

She nodded. "For the next two months while she is recuperating Serena will live with Sam. Alana will visit every other weekend. We were ordered to allow it." She nearly choked on the words. "After the two months are up Serena will spend the last week of every month with her grandmother. Alana gets Serena for a week starting the day after Christmas. She gets Serena for a week right before Thanksgiving too. She also gets Serena for the entire month of June."

Sam felt the anger building. He glanced around at their friends. "We took off the week after our wedding so that we can spend time as a family."

Everyone nodded. They already knew this.

"Alana gets Serena that week."

"You are going to appeal, right?" Josh asked.

"Of course I am! I do not want that woman in Serena's life. At least not this much."

President Bartlet looked over at Leo. "Can I overturn this ruling and give Sam full custody?"

"No Sir. You will have to allow Sam to go through the proper channels," Leo answered tiredly.

"Can I at least be a character witness next time?"

"That would not be wise Sir," CJ told him.

"Can I choose the Judge?"

They all shook their heads.

"Well, I am going to hold a party to celebrate when Serena is released from the hospital and Alana is not invited," President Bartlet decided. He looked at Sam. "Appeal this. You are a good father and you deserve to make the decision of how much time you want Serena to spend with her grandmother."

"Thank you Sir."

**********

"CJ." Donna looked up when her friend entered the room. "How do I look?"

CJ chuckled. "You look awful."

"What?" Donna turned to the mirror frantically.

"I was kidding. You look wonderful."

Donna calmed down just a little bit. "How much longer?"

"Nearly a half-hour."

"That long?"

CJ nodded.

"How's Sam? Have you seen him?"

"Just a few minutes ago. He's more nervous than you are," she laughed.

"How about Serena?" She and Sam were still very protective of the little girl. Serena had only gotten out of the hospital the week before.

"Amy and Zoey took her for a walk outside." CJ saw Donna's look and rushed to reassure her. "They'll have her back here in plenty of time."

"Did you remind them to make sure she didn't get dirty?"

"Amy is Serena's nanny. I think she knows to keep the child clean," CJ pointed out.

"I guess," Donna replied uncertainly.

*********

"Sam will you please sit down?" Toby asked in an exasperated tone.

Sam reluctantly sat across from Toby and Josh. "How long?"

Josh sighed, "You asked that about two minutes ago."

"Twenty-four minutes," Toby answered at the same time.

"Still? Maybe we can start early?" he asked hopefully.

In spite of himself Josh laughed. "I doubt it. I know my assistant. She's not ready yet."

"Is everyone else ready?"

Josh and Toby both groaned. Sam had been asking about every minute detail for the last hour.

"Everyone important is here," Charlie reported as he stepped into the room. "Your sister arrived a while ago. She's getting dressed now. Donna's mother is seated and her father is waiting in another room. Her brothers are seated. The Bartlet's and Leo are in the Residence. CJ is with Donna. Zoey and Amy have Serena. Did I forget anyone?"

Sam had actually been paying attention, ticking people off on his fingers. "Are the rest of the guests here?"

"I don't know but there are a lot of people out there," Charlie answered with a shrug.

Sam nodded, satisfied for the moment. "How long?"

"If you ask that again there is not going to be a wedding," Toby stated ominously.

**********

Fifteen minutes to go, Donna thought glancing at the clock. She turned to Patty. "How did everything seem when you came?"

Patty lifted an eyebrow. "How did things seem? This is the White House, how were things supposed to seem? A member of the Secret Service actually escorted me through the building. I think they thought I was going to steal something."

"Did you see any of the guests? Or Sam?"

"I didn't see Sam. I saw a few guests that were just arriving. One of them was Leo McGarry's daughter." She thought a moment. "Some reporter was about to ask me something but when he saw the agent he walked away."

"What did he look like?" CJ inquired.

"Red hair."

"Danny Concannon," Donna and CJ said at the same time.

"He'll find a chance to talk to you later," CJ added.

"Hey," Zoey said as she stepped into the room carrying Serena.

Donna stepped forward to take Serena but CJ grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Your dress."

"Oh."

"She's fine," Zoey assured her.

CJ glanced at her watch. "I'm going to go check on something. I'll be back soon. It's almost time to start."

"It is hard to believe you're marrying Sam today," Zoey said.

"It is?"

"Yeah. I never thought you two would get together."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I always thought you and Josh would end up together."

"Me and Josh? Why?"

Zoey shrugged as she set a squirming Serena down on the floor. "He's in love with you. I think he has been since the campaign. I just kind of thought you felt the same way."

"I am fond of Josh. He is one of my best friends," Donna said softly. "Right after he was shot I thought about being romantically involved with him. I decided it wasn't worth it. He isn't ready for a family, to settle down." She laughed, "I never saw myself with Sam. He was always a good friend. Almost like a brother. Everything just sort of snowballed and I woke up one morning in love with him. It was that fast." She grinned mischievously, "You are the one who has feelings for Josh, Zoey."

"Me!"

"You had such a crush on him during the campaign. I saw the way you watched him. You still look at him like that occasionally."

The younger woman sighed. There was no reason to hide it. "I did have a huge crush on him."

"Did?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I still do."

"How are things with Charlie? Do you still consider yourselves 'friends'?"

"Yes."

"Have you thought about going for Josh?"

"Can you imagine my Dad's reaction? He might even fire him."

"Your father's reaction would be funny." Donna grinned. "But I doubt that he'd fire Josh. He'd probably just threaten him."

"Maybe," Zoey said, unconvinced.

"Guys?" CJ stepped back into the room. "Ready?"

"Yep." Zoey picked Serena back up. It was her job to walk down the aisle holding the toddler's hand. With a small wave, they exited the room.

Donna took a deep breath. "I think so."

CJ smiled. "You're fine. Come on."

**********

The room was nearly full. Almost everyone who had been invited had shown up. Sam glanced out at the faces. He saw Patty's husband and children. Donna's mother and brothers were there. He smiled at President Bartlet, Abbey, and Leo. Both men looked proud. Josh, Toby, and Charlie all stood with him. Toby looked quite uncomfortable, he shifted his feet several times. Charlie whispered to him to stand still because people were watching. Josh stared out at the guests and wished he and Sam were in opposite places.

Everyone turned toward the door when music started to play. Serena stepped into the room. She was wearing a frilly pink dress. Her short hair was pulled back with a pink bow. She carried a heart shaped basket filled with flower petals in shades of pink and white. She was supposed to drop petals as she walked. Zoey was right behind the child. Her dress was the same shade as Serena's but had no ruffles and was sleeveless.

Serena took a few tentative steps before noticing her audience. She froze, looking around the room tentatively. There were so many people. Several people smiled reassuringly at the child as she took a quick step closer to Zoey.

Zoey chuckled slightly as Serena held her arms out and said 'up peas'. This was what Donna had meant when she'd said she wanted someone familiar with Serena 'just in case'.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as several people laughed. He was glad Zoey had handled the problem. He had been about to go get his daughter and bring her back up here. He hadn't expected the little girl who had instantly charmed President Bartlet to be scared of people.

Patty walked into the room. Her dress was identical to Zoey's. She smiled at the few people whom she knew seated within this room of influential strangers. Not for the first time she thought how amazing it was that her brother was close enough to these people to have them at his wedding. 

CJ came into the room just as Zoey and Serena reached the front. She smiled as Serena loudly yelled 'down' and ran to her father. Sam didn't hesitate before picking the scared child up. The smile turned to a grin as Serena shot a glare at their audience. She was obviously not happy to be here.

As Patty and then CJ reached the front the music changed. Donna and her father entered the room and everyone, even President Bartlet, stood up. Her white strapless gown flowed down her body. Her golden hair was swept up out of her face. A soft smile filled her face when she saw Serena in Sam's arms. Sam caught her gaze and smiled. Even Serena seemed to know that something special was happening. For the first time since entering this room, the little girl smiled.

As Donna reached the front Sam tried to hand his daughter to Josh, who was standing closest to him. Serena resisted. CJ took the child. Serena started to squirm and Zoey took her. Serena finally quieted. She had taken an immediate liking to Zoey. No one had been able to figure out why.

CJ felt tears form in her eyes as listened to her friends recite the vows that they had written. It was so poignant. She realized that almost everyone was having the same reaction that she was. Even Toby appeared to be affected by the heartfelt words, his eyes looked suspiciously misty.

CJ found herself watching Josh as the ceremony ended. She knew how difficult this was for him. He seemed to be dealing well though. He actually looked happy for Sam, if a little jealous. She smiled at him sympathetically as he took her arm to walk back down the aisle. Toby and Patty were right in front of them. Zoey and Charlie were behind them. Donna and Sam were almost out of the room already. Sam was holding Serena. They were all headed for the room where the reception was to be held.

Toby glanced at his watch as he took a seat. It would be a while before everyone else joined them. People were being dismissed from the room slowly. The Bartlet's would be the first, followed by Donna and Sam's families. He looked up at the others at the table. Donna, Sam, CJ, Charlie, Josh, Zoey, and Serena were all at the long table. The Bartlet's and Leo would also be sitting here. Patty was at the table right now but would be going to a different table when her husband and children arrived. Patty and her family would be sitting with Donna's parents and brothers, at the next table.

"I would like to say something before anyone else joins us," Josh stated.

"As long as you don't think this lets you out of giving a best man speech later," Sam told him with a smile.

Josh just nodded. "You know I wasn't exactly happy about this wedding even if I pretended I didn't care."

Everyone at the table waited, holding their breath. They all hoped that he didn't try to cause problems.

"Watching and listening to you today, I changed my mind. You really love each other. I... I'm happy for you." He ended in an almost inaudible voice.

Donna felt tears welling up. She had known this was going to hurt him.

"Thank you," Sam told his best friend in a tight voice. He too was holding back tears. "Your approval, you being on our side, it means a lot."

"No crying. You're all supposed to be happy." President Bartlet said as he, Abbey, and Leo approached the table.

*********

It was almost over. There were only a few things left to do. Donna, CJ, Zoey, Patty, and Serena had gone upstairs to change out of their uncomfortable dresses.

Josh, Toby, Sam, and Charlie were changing as well.

All of the guests had been told to dress casually.

"Okay! Everybody!" CJ called out. "It's time for Donna to toss the bouquet," She said once she had everyone's attention.

Single women pressed forward to have a better chance. CJ, Zoey, Mallory, and the assistants were among the women.

"I see someone else who needs to join the single women," President Bartlet said teasingly.

"Who?" Sam asked as he glanced around curiously.

"Miss Serena," The President said as he bounced the child on his lap as she squealed in delight.

Sam blanched. "S... Serena? But... but she's only a baby."

Abbey stood. "So what? You're never too young to join in the fun." She took the baby from her husband and carried her over to the crowd of women.

Donna looked out at the crowd one more time. She knew who she wanted to catch the bouquet. She turned around and threw the flowers over her shoulder.

Several women pressed forward trying to catch the flying flowers. Serena squealed happily as she participated in the excitement.

"Who caught it?" President Bartlet asked from his table. He couldn't wait to start teasing the woman, especially if it was CJ.

"I don't know," Abbey answered as she pursued the room.

All of the women were looking around at each other now. No one seemed to know who had caught it. CJ turned her attention to the floor. Maybe no one caught it.

"Um."

"What's wrong Toby?" Josh asked.

Toby wordlessly held up the bouquet.

"Where did you get that?" Sam asked in a confused voice.

"I, um, caught it."

"Toby, how many times do I have to tell you? You will never be a bride, no matter how many times you wish it." President Bartlet grinned. Several people chuckled.

"Yes Sir. I didn't mean to catch it. It just kind of landed in my hands." He looked at Sam. "She should have practiced. Her aim isn't very good."

CJ walked over and grabbed the bouquet. "Let's try this again." She walked the flowers back over to Donna.

She threw the bouquet again. This time a female caught the flowers.

"Um, Abbey. I hate to remind you but you're already married." Josh was smirking.

Jed grabbed the bouquet from his wife. "It isn't fair for you to get all the guys. Let's let one of these other

women have a chance." He teased as he walked the bouquet back to the bride. "If you don't get those flowers to someone appropriate this time, I'm throwing the bouquet next time." The President taunted.

"Only one more time, I promise." Donna threw the bouquet one more time.

CJ held the flowers up.

Donna grinned. She had hoped CJ would catch it.

President Bartlet rubbed his hands together in glee as he approached his Press Secretary.

************

"You're sure you don't mind?" Donna asked for about the hundredth time.

"I'm sure." Josh sighed, "I keep saying I'm sure. Besides, even if I wasn't you don't have time to make other arrangements."

"Um." Donna looked across her and Sam's living room to where Serena was playing with her dollhouse.

Josh looked at Sam. "She didn't?"

Sam smiled. "She did."

"You made other arrangements?" Josh moved so that he was in Donna's line of sight.

"In case you decided you didn't want to do this I talked to CJ. All I have to do is call her, she's ready to come. Do you want me to call her?"

Josh thought a moment. "No. I want to spend some time with my Goddaughter. It will be fun. I even refrained from drinking at the reception so that I could do this."

Sam and Donna had promised the nanny she could have the week off. They had thought that Alana would be taking Serena right after the wedding. A few weeks before, Alana had informed them that she wouldn't be able to keep the toddler the whole time after all. Amy had already made plans. Josh had heard Donna and Sam discussing the need for someone to watch Serena and had volunteered.

"Okay," Donna said. "There's healthy food in the kitchen. Please make sure she eats some of it, instead of just the junk I know you are going to feed her. Oh, I made index cards for you. The cards detail Serena's care. I left them on the kitchen counter. Alana is coming on Monday morning at 9:00. Remember." It was Friday evening.

"I can do this," he assured her.

Donna walked over to Serena. Sam was already saying goodbye to the child.

"Bye, Serena. We have to go now. Be good for Uncle Josh. I love you." She kissed the little girl's forehead.

"Bye Mommy."

Her heart caught in her throat. "What?" She looked at Josh and Sam. "Did she...?"

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yes."

It was the first time Serena had called Donna mommy. She had understood more about the wedding than they had realized.

Donna picked the child up. "Bye Sweetie. I'll miss you." She handed the child to Josh as Sam led her out of the house.

"I can't believe this. I love that child so much." She thought a moment. "What is Alana going to say?"

"I don't care. We can get through anything now. Together." Sam gently kissed her.

************


End file.
